


Breaking Through the Iron Wall - Aone Takanobu x Reader

by charlthotte



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 32,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlthotte/pseuds/charlthotte
Summary: Moving to Miyagi had been better than I had expected. Coming from Northern Hokkaido, it had been the first time I hadn't seen the mountains and roadways endowed with icy footsteps in the Spring. However, moving from everything I knew had been rather a large shock - nearly every relationship I had made in the first 16 years of my life had imploded, disappeared, forgotten. Everything felt a lot more numb now than it used to, all because my mother had to change her occupation location. I used to love the snowy mountains, but now a whole new snowy mountain had its way into my life.
Relationships: Aone Takanobu/Reader
Comments: 27
Kudos: 136





	1. Chapter 1

Before, I had never seen an April morning without snow-endowed pathways, with fresh, crisp footprints pressed into the freezing substance. Now, I could prise open my window without the harsh morning wind lashing and pinching at my cheeks, I could go as far as to say... It was somehow... refreshing. A new start only 16 years into my life, right at the start of my second year of high-school. Perhaps the most daunting part was I now knew nobody; absolutely no one. No siblings, no family bar my parents and no friends to speak of. Sighing breathlessly, my eyes wandered across my room and towards my clock... Exactly 12 minutes until my train set off down the road. Panic soon laced itself into my expression. Luckily I had preserved my curly hair in a bonnet, before I lay down to slumber the night before, so it wasn't as much of a bedhead as usual. There was no time to make my face appear presentable. What a great first impression that would make. I attempted to hurl on my uniform as quickly yet gracefully as possible - careful to not crease my blazer or tie. 

Scampering down the stairs, at a pace dangerous enough to hurtle myself down them, I leapt over the last few to save as much time as possible, not even having enough time for breakfast... Maybe there'd be something at school to indulge in. I waved my mother a hasty goodbye, while she just sat, staring off into space and peacefully sipping at a glass of water. We moved here for her, and she's not even affected in the slightest. Looking down at my watch, I noticed how I had just hardly over a minute until my train left. At that point, I began bolting down the street, noticing the vehicle's engine churning in a rather unhealthy manor. 'Peculiar' I thought to myself. Stopping to breathe wasn't an option at this point. I had to get on that train.

Step by step, my legs carried me onto the boarding area of the train. I had made it, finally. Surely my hair and face looked even more of a mess than before, what a great start to my new school life. Walking down the aisle, I noticed there were only two seats left on the carriage. The first was at the very back, next to a giddy looking child, with such an inviting smile, practically compelling me to sit next to them. The second was much closer to the front, which would save myself a bit more energy than going all the way to the back. However... The person situated next to the other free space was a rather intimidating man, whose face adorned a rather frightening glare. He looked as if he towered well over 190cm. Short, pristine, white hair grew out from his scalp, making him appear to be something more than human. Surely, he was a completely grown man as his demeanour and overall seriousness hinted towards that idea. My brain told me to sit next to the child, but my tired legs practically carried me towards the closer seat. Anxiety started to plummet through my veins, my heart thumping at an abnormal rhythm, ringing through my ears - making it the only thing I could hear. 

Soon after I sat down, the train started rumbling along the tracks at a beat similar to a heart murmur. The man next to me didn't even slightly stir when I sat there. Out of the corner of my eye, I clocked that he had no eyebrows, quite the peculiar sight. The man shifted slightly in his seat and my eyes quickly darted towards the floor, what if he had discovered me looking at him... That would mean terrible trouble for me. With my eyes sewn into the floor, I noticed his bag. It read 'Date Tech High: Volleyball Club'.

'He goes to Date Tech too?! He must be the coach, maybe a third-year if I push it.' Nevertheless, he didn't look any less terrifying. Slowly, I brought my eyes back to a regular level. I threw the idea of starting a conversation with him around my head, but did I really want him to be my first acquaintance? But, should I really be judging him just by his appearance, if he had been trusted to coach young minds in volleyball, he couldn't be that dodgy, maybe just a little strange... Without properly thinking it through, my voice broke through the silence. "So... Do you go to Date Tech too?" I half expected him to shout at me after saying that, but maybe I was being too presumptuous. The longest few seconds in my life passed as I awaited his reply. I don't really think he even realised that I was trying to strike up a conversation. His face turned towards mine, flushed with a slight shade of pink and across it was a slightly puzzled expression. A soft grunt flew through the air as he also nodded his head. "Oh... Cool... What year are you in? I'm a second-year." To my utter shock, he held up two fingers, signifying he was also a second-year. That gesture confused me greatly, surely someone the same age as me couldn't be such of a snowy mountain. A huge frame topped by a layer of white. Was everyone here this huge? "Ah, that's nice." I said, slightly more enthusiastic than my last two questions, maybe he wasn't dangerous after all. "I'm (L/N) (F/N), nice to meet you..." I paused at the end, sending him the message that I'd like to know his name. I shakily and hesitantly put my hand out for a handshake, his massive hand met mine and shook it, yet his grip did not crush my bones. It was shockingly delicate, a touch you'd expect from a purely innocent child.

"Aone Takanobu" His deep, gruff voice almost carrying a soft undertone to it. As if he was trying to not scare me away from him completely. A small smile curled up on the left side of his face. To me, that was cute. Aone was the definition of 'don't judge a book by its cover.' In return my face lit up with a much larger smile than his. 

But at that very moment... A large bang echoed from the front of the train, hadn't this day been hectic enough already? Both Aone and myself turned our heads toward each other, we both looked concerned, but his concern much less noticeable than mine. "Please don't tell me that the train's broken down." I sighed hopelessly, why did this have to happen? On my first day no less! What a great first impression this would have on school officials - late on my first day...


	2. Chapter 2

I tried to reassure myself that the noise was only a slight blip in the engine, that it wasn't anything serious. I was going to make it to school on time, little mishaps happen all the time. Plus, anything this crazy would just be too cruel to happen to me. 

All those hopeful thoughts soon came to an abrupt halt when the most hopeless news rang over the intercom. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately the train engine has malfunctioned and we cannot let you ride on for any longer. This is for your own safety. Please exit the vehicle in an orderly fashion and wait for the next train to arrive, it will be here in fifteen minutes, approximately. We are terribly sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused." After hearing that news, my whole face dropped, and every other face that I could set my eyes on did the exact same. Yet Aone's face stayed as stoic with just a little hint of being unimpressed with the news that had just been bestowed upon him. I groaned under my breath, slowly getting more annoyed at the given situation.

One by one, people began to file out of the doors, I decided to wait until we were the last ones on the carriage, since I wasn't exactly the best with being surrounded by people making contact with me. Once everyone else was exiting, I decided it was finally my time to exit the carriage, closely followed by Aone, his overwhelming presence looming over myself. His aura felt so omnipotent that I had the slightest inkling to run away. Somehow, I managed to stay cool. When we had finally got to a bench at the side of the train track, I set my bag down on the floor and fished through it for the book that had been gaining my interest for the past few days. It was more of a history book, dedicated to the art of the Victorian Flower Language. I had always thought it was pretty impressive that you could communicate your thoughts without a single word. In my opinion, actions speak louder than words, that's why that beautiful language practically enthralled me. Somehow like Aone hadn't spoken any words to me but his name, but I already knew things about him, along with how I could tell he felt misunderstood by people due to his intimidating appearance, when I already could see into his delicate insides.

I nimbly slid the bookmark from my book and opened it upon the latest page. That is where it showed the gorgeous red tulip, the flower that can be used as a declaration of love. Truly amazing how something so delicate yet powerful as love could be expressed with something as simple as a flower grown from the very earth that we stand upon. Sometimes... Words are just words and nothing else, you could say something so powerful yet it could carry no meaning whatsoever. Yet that flower could carry so much more meaning than the words that correlate to the exact same thing.

My body froze as I felt two eyes burn holes right through me and onto the same page I was reading. Hesitantly, I turned my head over my shoulder to see Aone reading the book, his eyes somehow sparkling with interest. "It's cool, isn't it?" I piped up, "How you can say things that can change the course of your future without even opening your mouth." I looked back at Aone with eyes carrying a childlike excitement. The left side of his lip curled up in the same faint smile I had seen not so long ago, his eyes locked onto mine - he nodded. Still not a man of many words. I flicked onto the next page titled 'Acceptance and Rejection'. It simply stated how to answer questions with the flower language. To say 'yes' or to accept or agree with something, you'd present the flower in your right hand. Opposingly, to say 'no', reject or disagree with something, you'd present the flower with your left hand instead. 

I continued to flick through the book whilst waiting for our saviour train, making sure to read slowly so that Aone could read all the words from behind my back. I guess that topic would be fun to learn about for somebody who didn't like expressing themselves with words. Minutes later, the saviour train came, chugging along at a much healthier beat to the previous one. One downside to it was that it was already housing its regular riders, with little room left for the people of the train before. Again, I waited until everyone else was one the train for myself and Aone to board. The closeness of all the people around me caused my whole spirit to drop down to my feet. It was so uncomfortable. I brought one of my hands across to try to curb the shakiness of the other, to no avail. All the hairs on my body began to stand on end, my breathing became shakier and shakier. At that point, Aone took notice and placed his hand delicately on my shoulder to try to put a halt to my fretting. First, I jumped at his touch, but soon became more accustomed to it and it slowly became more comforting. My shakiness began to gradually subside, to the point where I could manage to utter a few words to Aone. "I-I'm s-sorry. I'm not a big f-fan of c-crowds." My voice was so uneven, I'm sure it sounded like I was crying. His large hands gently squeezed my shoulder as if to say 'It's okay, I'm here.' Somehow it was funny to me how a man I was terribly intimidated by not so long ago was now comforting me in my panicked state.

The ride seemed to go on for hours, but after glancing at my clock, I saw how twenty minutes had hardly passed. Throughout that third of an hour, his hand never left my shoulder, every so often squeezing it when he noticed my distress levels gradually rising. Gazing through the pane, our stop was hardly 100 metres away, and that sight brought the highest waterfall of relief to cascade down onto me at an immense force. The speed of the train eventually came to a halt, this time I wanted to be the first to get off of the train, which wouldn't be so hard seeing as though we were rather close to the carriage exit. 

Feeling the outside air touch my face had never felt so amazing before. I may have even started spinning around with my arms spread-eagled in a state of pure elation; had it not been for the fact that it was a public setting. Suddenly, the thought of the time grappled itself into my head, after all the whole time situation had fled from head during my panic. I only had sixteen minutes to get the school, which was 25 minutes away from my current location. I would have to walk at an increased pace - approximately 167% of my usual speed. 

I began to brace myself for the rapid journey ahead of me, taking one deep breath before striding at a fast pace, en route towards Date Tech High. Even at my current speed, Aone's paces were much larger and quicker than my own, so I began quickening my drive to an even higher pace. Stride after stride, I could feel my face begin to heat up the same temperature to a kiln. It was quite the task to try to match Aone's pace and not fall behind. Walking to him was more of a slow jog to me. The clock began to tick down even further. Twelve minutes... Nine minutes... Five minutes... One minute... Thirty seconds... Had it not been for my stamina built up from having a sporty childhood and for the fact that I was trying keep up with Aone the whole way - I don't think I'd have made it to school. Precisely thirty seconds before the bell where they lock the school gates. Even though we arrived before the bell, the officials at the gates gave us condescending looks, probably because of our near tardiness. I tried to explain how the train broke down and we had to wait for the next one, and they believed me. Thankfully. Apparently the train line operator had phoned into school to explain that a train had broken down so some students may be late. The officials asked us for our names and after giving mine they realised that I was new to Date Tech. 

"I'll assign Mr. Aone to be your tour guide for the first two periods only. Just so you can get an idea of the layout and how we run things here at Date Tech. You are dismissed." Aone gave them a swift nod of acceptance to agree to showing me around. However, I was completely mesmerised by the pure beauty in the school's structure. I was sure that this fresh new start at this fresh new school would be quite the experience.


	3. Chapter 3

Compared to my last school, Date Tech High was much more modern, since my old school was a traditional Japanese structure. However, this grand new change wasn't that unwelcome to me. It looked like a school that you'd find on your television. Weeks ago, I thought this change would be rather daunting to me - but meeting someone who already felt quite trustworthy was a pleasant little surprise.

Rifling through my bag, I managed to locate my timetable and presented it to Aone. He took it - softly - from between my fingers, the same delicate touch that was careful not to hurt anything, even the paper. My eyes laid fixed on the floor, giving him enough time to scan my timetable, when I thought the time I had given him was adequate enough, my eyes flicked back up to his face; only to see the left side of his lip curl up ever so slightly. Something about that timetable must have made him feel a little bit happier than normal. A few more seconds passed until I realised that I was staring straight at him. Quickly snapping out of that state, I asked, "Do we have any classes together?" His eyes met mine, and nodded, that curled lip not leaving his face for even a split-second. "How many?" I inquired. He then proceeded to turn the timetable to face me and pointed at nearly every single box on it. A smile of relief soon laced itself onto my face, it seemed that we were in the same class, that news couldn't have been anymore welcome in my ears. 

With a swift gesture from his hand, he beckoned for me to follow him, first taking me to the science laboratory, smartly placed on the ground floor. Mathematics was next, followed by modern Japanese, History and then Homemaking. Briefly, I paused in my tracks, quick to jot down the classrooms locations, so I wouldn't get lost when having to navigate the school solitaire. For the remainder of the first two periods, I followed Aone's gargantuan strides - almost trailing behind him like a lost puppy. All that whilst also scribbling down a rough diagram of the school's architecture, but without a ruler, it was pretty tough. The first lesson that I actually would be attending was social studies, entering that classroom was absolutely daunting to say the least, seeing all of those people staring at me as if I was fresh meat practically made my spine shiver. Unlike the students, the teacher held a warm smile upon their mouth. Aone filed in right behind me and took his assigned seat. Introducing myself to the class wasn't any less frightening, all the students faces were barren. All except for one boy in the very back corner with a scheming smirk plastered across his face. He had fawn-brown hair, neatly swept across his forehead. From surveying him quickly, I noticed he had the same volleyball club bag as Aone, but what was he smirking at me for?

I was then instructed to take my seat, but since my luck had been running dry that day - the seat I took was directly behind Aone and to the left of the boy with the smirk. And of course that was the only free seat in the room. Soon after the teacher turned their back, the smirk leaned further towards myself - his arms folded in what you could call a playful manor. "So...", he propositioned, his smirk growing even larger, "What were you and Aone doing together that would cause you to be this late to class?" His eyebrow raised, as if he was trying too hard to come off as intimidating. 

"Nothing." I blurted, trying not to give him the entertainment he was thirsting after.

"Are you sure?" He grinned, his expression becoming comical to a point that it was comparable to a child trying to be funny.

"Nothing." I repeated, "It's just a long story."

If it was possible for his expression to become even more cartoonish, he retorted. "Oooooh, how interesting. Do tell me more!"

"Oh just shut up." My words flew back in his face in quite a curt fashion, seemingly wiping the ungodly smirk from his face, even by just an inch.

"Of course, whatever you say your highness. Your wish is my command." He slumped back in his chair, seemingly defeated that I didn't have more of a dramatic reaction to his given topic of conversation. His eyes shifted back to the lesson, the whole reason we were there in the first place. In doing the same, I came to realise how much of a mountain the man in front of myself was. Something... Seemed off about him, his whole body was tensed, tensed so tightly I thought he may explode. Had he been listening to my 'conversation' with the grimace sat to my right? I couldn't imagine having to be on a team with that creature.

Whilst taking notes from the teacher's verbosity, it occurred to me how difficult it would have been to see the board - seeing as though Aone's iron wall was completely blocking my view. I attempted to shift around in my seat to try to identify the words on the board, but trying to peak around him was a completely failed quest. I thought maybe Aone had maybe heard me shifting around in my chair, and he proceeded to duck down in his seat, to the point where his chin was close to touching the desk. I whispered an almost inaudible 'thanks' to him to show my gratitude, he again, took notice of that and nodded his head, this time; as if to say 'no problem'. The rest of the lesson went by pretty smoothly, even if Aone was in a pretty difficult position to write comfortably in.

After the bell rang to signify the third period ending, everyone packed their bags as the teacher dismissed us. With barely a foot out of the classroom threshold, the grimace man poked his head into my personal space once again, this time, however shifting inside of Aone's business. "So who's this fresh new face that you've been hanging around with, huh Aone?" He inquired, that infuriating smirk returning to his face one again. 

Aone glared at him, clearly annoyed, "Futakuchi." He growled, compelling the grimace to shut his forsaken mouth. Finally, there was a name to put to this creature of the underworld. Life with him around could be called some level of 'interesting'.

The next two periods were also ones I shared with Aone and the grimace that was Futakuchi. Thankfully, this time - Aone didn't have to bow down for me to simply see in front of him. Looking down at my timetable, I clocked that my last lesson was physical education, for one part I was excited due to the fact I loved to run around, sewing chaos into almost every sport I played. The factor I didn't quite enjoy was that neither Aone or Futakuchi shared that lesson with me. Deciding to not be so gloomy, I realised that it would be a perfect opportunity to meet new people, but that was a given with starting a new school. I waved farewell to Aone and the grimace, sighing at the unfortunate news of having to see his face again.

After, changing into the school's sport uniform, I entered the gym - half expected to be crushed by the competitive type, but to my surprise, a few people acknowledged my entrance and smiled. Quite different than the first interaction some people gave me. Perhaps the one that stood out the most was a girl with her sleek, black hair neatly compiled into a bun, her smile was much larger and warmer than the others. She made her way over to me - however her pace was more that of a soft charge, slowing down just enough to not bombard her body into mine. "Hi! I'm Fuse Hiroko! It's really nice to meet you, you must be new here! What's your name?" She rambled, each word hurtling out like cannon fire. She really was a fiery ball of energy. 

"Hey, I'm (L/N) (F/N), nice to meet you too, Fuse." Her inviting demeanour practically commanding me to smile back.

"Just Hiroko is fine, we're all friends here (Y/N)!" I guess formalities weren't that much of a big deal to her. Suddenly, she started beckoning to another girl whose presence seemed a lot less forward than Hiroko, she simply stuck her hand out for a handshake.

"Shinsato Rea." She spoke in a monotonous voice, not taking the time for any pleasantries.

I greeted her with my name after hers, and she gave a more unenthusiastic handshake, those girls were really polar opposites. 

The three of us bundled together for the rest of the lesson, Rea hardly spoke a word that wasn't a complaint, whereas - Hiroko remained as giddy and excited as ever. Even after the lesson had finished and we were getting changed she practically stayed glued to me, with Rea closely shuffling behind her. She practically begged me for my phone number and after a few seconds, her begging made me cave in. She even sneaked Rea's number with hers so that she wasn't left out. We walked out of the changing rooms, Hiroko still bombing me with question after question, each I answered obediently; nearly feeling drained by her constant output of happiness.

On the other side of the path, stood Aone with his eyes fixed upon me. Smiling as I greeted him, I proposed the question, "Do you know of any clubs I could join?" He shook his head in defeat, but then stood statuesquely in a state I could infer to as thought, time passed and his eyes eventually widened, as if he had hit an epiphany. Once again, he gestured for me to follow him, his strides still beating the ground and an immense pace. Confusion filled my head as to where exactly we were headed, the confusion quickly lifted when we arrived at another gym. Peeking inside the building, I saw about a dozen boys setting up volleyball nets. As confused I was, I was strikingly intrigued by the new opportunity.


	4. Chapter 4

The squeak of trainers stubbing themselves on the gym floor echoed throughout the massive establishment. Around a dozen boys in volleyball uniforms were scattered around the court, spiking and blocking balls with ungodly strength. It was truly mesmerising seeing a spherical piece of foam being smashed around the court at an immense velocity, even when their hands met with the ball - the force didn't phase them one bit. That was truly amazing.

Futakuchi must have noticed myself and Aone entering the gym through the corner of his eye, he immediately dropped the ball he held in his hands. Soon, his annoying smirk regained its composure upon his face. "What is their highness doing here? We are but a simple sports club, after all." That boy seemed to poke bucket loads of fun out of messing with people. Tired of his jests, I folded my arms and sighed, feeling rather ticked off my his words. At that moment, Aone must have sent him a look, as Futakuchi soon came to his senses and asked me a question. A question that was certainly very out of the blue. "So... Your highness, it seems that our team is in need of a manager; seeing as though our last manager - Nametsu - is in Greece because of a foreign exchange program."

"And what am I meant to do about that?" I replied curtly.

"Well, pretty, pretty please could you be our new manager?" He spoke in the voice of a little girl, furiously batting his eyelashes whilst swaying from side to side, with his hands cupping his face.

"I'm sorry but I don't know much about volleyball. Wouldn't someone else be better at the job other than me?" I inquired, seriously confused.

"However, I do see that Aone was the one to bring you here, and you wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you? Futakuchi's face switched from that of a child to his devilish smirk, knowing the right buttons to press in order for me to accept his offer.

"Wouldn't you need the captain's approval first?" I asked, trying to worm my way out of being the manager in any way possible. "Or the coach?"

He snickered, "I see what you're doing. Moniwa! Coach Oiwake! Come here!" He belted across the gym, beckoning his hands towards himself. A boy with choppy, black hair wearing the number 2 and a man with his hair slicked back with a stern disposition made their ways towards Futakuchi. There weren't going to be any chances for escape after that.

The captain seemed as if he didn't want to entertain Futakuchi and what he was going to say. Everyone was probably thinking that too.

"Captain..." Futakuchi cooed, falling into his childlike state again, "Don't you think it'd be great if this person here became our manager, they've already met Aone and myself?"

"Don't ask me leading questions, Futakuchi. It is their choice to join anyway." The captain turned towards me, shooting me a look of compassion. I did need to join a club, but none I had came across interested me. If I did want to join, I would have already known people, which was obviously a bonus. Pondering for a little longer, I wondered what clubs Hiroko and Rea did? Surely they'd be less demanding than being a manager. Futakuchi also wouldn't be a part of their clubs. Seeing his grimace each day, would have surely drained me.

I nodded in appreciation towards the captain. "Thank you. I'm not acquainted with the rules of volleyball, so I don't think I'd be the best fit."

Once again, Futakuchi started to open his mouth, "But Moniwa! There hasn't been a single other applicant for the position, and we could teach them over time." I could tell he wasn't going to give up anytime soon, the thought of that and how draining his consistent begging would be, I began to cave. 

"Maybe you could give me until tomorrow to think about it? I think I'd make the better decision if I think it over properly" However, I knew all too well that no would probably still had been the answer.

"Yeah, that's completely fine. I'm Moniwa Kaname by the way." He held out his hand before me.

"Thanks, (L/N) (F/N)." I then took his hand in mine and shook it, and his grip was certainly more intense than any I had felt before. "Goodbye, I'll see you tomorrow." I swiftly turned around and headed for the outside, wanting to be out of that situation.

And of course, Futakuchi had one more thing to say, "You better say yes, your highness!" Turning around again, my face met his and glared at him, and I ushered him away with a curt wave of my hand. That thing was infuriating. I tried to keep my walking at its fastest pace possible so I wouldn't be in view of the gym anymore. From checking my watch I noticed I had a decent amount of time before my train came, so maybe I'd do a bit more reading when I arrived at the station. 

Walking down, my velocity was set at a mere saunter compared to the jog this morning, the afternoon air hitting my face making me feel somewhat refreshed. My head remained empty for the rest of my stroll, there was no need to think, I was walking down the path solitaire - just admiring whatever new things came into my view. Seeing as though, I didn't really get the chance to that morning. This place was just a completely different world compared to my last hometown. 

After arriving at the station, I set my bag down beside me and fumbled around inside it for my book. I had read quite a large portion of its contents earlier, the new page about the oak-leaved geranium. Giving it to someone would mean that you believe that your friendship with the recipient was true, so true that your bond could never be broken. It could also mean that you believe that your friendship outshines every other one in existence. Once again, I thought how beautiful it was that something so powerful could be expressed with something so delicate, something that could easily die if not taken care of. Maybe that was the whole concept behind the language, if you let the flower die - the meaning of the flower would die with it. I sat in thought for minutes more, contemplating the meaning of things we can and could say.

Not so long into the future, the train pulled up. Sparsely packed and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the vehicle's integrity, quite a pleasant situation - given the shenanigans of the earlier hours of the day. I plonked my body down onto a seat by myself, gazing out the window, this time my thoughts interrupted by the choice I had to make. 'Should I join? But what if there's a person better fitted to the job and they don't get the chance. After all, their original manager was still joined onto the club, she could still come back. But that meant my job wouldn't last that long." I thought to myself, waffling on and on inside my head - almost panicking in a place where nobody could hear. I just couldn't seem to calm my subconscious down by even one peg. I regret to say that the rest of the journey, my mind stayed locked in the state of internal pandaemonium. 

I hopped off the train, my head still stirring inside of me. I didn't even acknowledge my parents when I came through the door, I simply clambered up the stairs and flopped straight onto my bed, my head drowned into my pillow. Only coming out for air when I realised what I had said to myself earlier. I'd simply ask Hiroko what clubs her and Rea were in. Propping myself upon my headboard, I typed the digits I had been given by Hiroko.

"Hey Hiroko. It's (Y/N), just a quick question. What clubs are you and Rea in?"

-

It barely took her thirty seconds to reply.

-

"Hey!!!!!! I'm with Rea right now! She is in the computing club but she ditches everyday :( I'm in the rowing club but we can't take anymore members. Why'd you ask?

"I've been asked to manage the boys' volleyball team, but I don't really want to."

"OMG!!! That's so cool! Imagine managing a team that's practically famous!"

-

Famous? Why would a public school like Date Tech be famous? I thought that was a little weird, so I questioned Hiroko about it.

-

"Famous?"

"Didn't you know?!?! They're basically famous in Miyagi for their iron wall of blocks!!"

"Oh, that's pretty cool I guess. Sorry for troubling you."

"No problem! See you later!"

-

I thought that it may be cool to manage a 'famous' team, and I wouldn't be the one playing the sport everyday. All I'd have to do was put little things together and keep players like Futakuchi in check. After all, my plan of joining a club with Rea and Hiroko wasn't going to work at all, maybe I'd even get to miss school to go to their matches. I did have to join a club at some point, and there weren't any that caught my attention. Even if I didn't like it - I'd only have to stay until their actual manager got back from Greece.

Didn't Futakuchi say something about disappointing Aone?

"However, I do see that Aone was the one to bring you here, and you wouldn't want to disappoint him would you?"

Did he really mean that? I hadn't even known Aone for 24 hours - wouldn't disappointing him in that way seem strange? But, from what I'd seen Futakuchi do; he was probably just trying to pull my strings for himself. But why was he even trying to do that in the first place? Was he really that desperate for a manager?

I took one deep breath in, attempting to not let the questions drown me again. But other than the grimace, were there really any negatives that came with being their manager? Maybe being their manager would be a good thing to me...

And that's exactly what I was going to do.


	5. Chapter 5

The night before, I had checked multiple times that my alarm would ring at a rather early time - not wanting to repeat the situation of the latter day. After doing all my morning rituals at a normal pace that time, but not bothering with niceties, seeing as though everyone saw my normal face yesterday. Though my hair was a bit more out of place, probably due to all of the running I did yesterday, however, no one would notice except me. Curly hair was just curly hair to them.

Heading downstairs, a rather strange sight was bestowed upon me - my parents sat at the table together and engaging in conversation for once. My father wasn't very happy about the move - his tailoring business gained a lot more profit and customers back home, and here, customers were a rare sight to see. Usually now, breakfast was just take what you want and go, today an actual meal lay across the table. Soon, my parents took notice of me and beckoned for me to sit down with them. After taking my seat they soon engaged me in conversation. "Morning (Y/N), how was yesterday?" My mother inquired, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea.

"Pretty normal" I responded, "Besides the fact that there was a little mishap with the train."

"I heard about that, did you get to school on time?" My mother leered over the edge of her glasses - punctuality was a big thing for her.

"Just about, if only by a moment. It didn't cause any trouble though."

"Good." My mother curtly replied. I didn't want to know how she'd react if trouble had ensued.

"Enough of that, have you met any new people?" My dad sparked up, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

"Yeah... I guess I've met about 5 people."

"Elaborate." My mother said, peering over her glasses again.

"Well I met two girls called Hiroko and Rea in physical education. I met someone in social studies called... Futakuchi." I paused before saying his name - talking about him wasn't a very pleasant feeling. "I also met the volleyball captain and then someone on the train called Aone."

"It's nice to know you're getting along with people!" My dad cheerily smiled at me, the exact opposite to my mother's expression.

"You know (Y/N), you shouldn't be calling your acquaintances by their first names - they may think you to be immature and disrespectful."

My head sank, of course she'd think to say something like that. "I'm sorry, it's just that they told me to call them by their given names."

"Don't do that with anyone else." She scowled, always having to poke the fun out of every conversation. I immediately tucked into my breakfast - not wanting to talk to her anymore. After all, she'd only ever say negative things to me.

I checked my bag, making sure everything was packed, and so I stepped out of my house, not waving my parents goodbye. Sometimes I wondered how my dad put up with her. The walk down to the station was peaceful, in great contrast to the sprint of yesterday - finally getting the time to admire the scenery of the street surrounding me. A beautiful scent wafted towards me from the bakery - making my stomach churn for its deliciousness, even though I had just eaten. But I couldn't dare veer away from my path in pure fear of being late again. My feet carried me closer and closer to the train, until the point where I was already inside it. Finally giving me a rush of relief. 

Once again, Aone was sat by himself in the exact same seat as yesterday, almost as if he owned it - like some sort of territory. Upon seeing his face - I smiled and cheerily waved my hand. In return, the left side of his lip curled up in his subtle smile. Almost skipping, I made my way over to him. That whole time - his little smile never left his face, it was so tiny, hardly noticeable and that's why I found it kind of adorable. It was as if he was not letting anyone see his smile besides me - truly endearing. As soon as I took my place beside him, I dug through my bag for my book. This time opening to the page detailing the lavender flower. 

This flower was given as a sign of distrust, contrasting its beautiful being. Lavender was a common scent in every aromatic product, as it was known to relax and put people to sleep easier. Perhaps that was why its meaning was so contradictory, if the recipient did not know the meaning behind the flower - they would have no clue that the giver did not harbour any trust for them. Truly deceiving, therefore making it the flower of maltrust.

Just like yesterday, I made sure to turn the page slowly, so that Aone could read alongside me. It was strange that a man I had only met 24 hours ago was now reading alongside me, just like friends who knew each other inside out. Aone and myself were not like that at all, he had spoken only two words to me - his name. Yet, we sat next to each other in silence, as if there was nothing left in the world for us to talk about. The truth was far from that - we had yet to talk about everything, even the littlest of trivial things. I wondered if we'd always stay like that - side by side in silence.

We stayed reading for the remainder of the train ride. After it had arrived at its destination, I once again hesitated to move until everyone else had began to exit the carriage, I then hurled my bag over my shoulder and stepped outside once more. I felt I needed to tell someone about my big decision. "Hey Aone." His head sharply turned towards me, "I've made a decision about being your manager... And I'm going to do it.”

The left side of his lip began to curl up more than it had before.

"I know I may not know anything about the sport, but I'll try. And if you don't like me being there you can always tell me and I'll stop." I rambled, starting to become flustered about the situation again. Aone shook his head and placed his hand delicately upon my shoulder.

"It's okay." He spoke in a deep and comforting tone, trying to calm me down, assuring me that the decision I had made was the correct one. It worked, the simple gesture he made stabilised my mind.

"Thank you." My eyes shifted towards his, gratitude shining from them. The simple words he spoke had just brightened my day. In return, he nodded his head. The rest of the journey to school was silent, but it was a pleasant silence - just enjoying each other's company. 

Silence stayed present until we reached the volleyball gym, even though it was before school started, the majority of the team was gathered there, and of course - so was Futakuchi. His snarky smile arose as he saw me standing at the entrance. "Has their highness made their decision yet?"

"Yes." I bluntly replied, it was too early for his antics.

"And what would that decision be?" While saying that, he put his face rather close to mine - perhaps trying his hopeless intimidation tactics again.

"I'm going to be the manager, if you'd let me."

Futakuchi then started jumping around, acting like and elated child hearing exciting news. "Isn't that just great! I am so looking forward for their highness joining us. The news is music to my ears." He flailed his arms around randomly.

"Can it, Futakuchi." Moniwa shouted from across the gym, coming towards him - hopefully to clip him around the back of the head. "Oh hey, (L/N). You decided anything yet?"

"Yes..." I paused for a second, taking in a deep breath, "I would like to be your manager."

"Oh, that's great. I think it's time for you to meet everyone then." He then whistled, signalling the rest of the team to gather. Once they did, he began introductions. "Everyone this is our new manager, (L/N) (Y/N). She is starting as of today." The rest of the team bowed at me - quite the reception. The captain spoke again, "Number one is our vice captain and middle blocker - Kamasaki Yasushi. Number two is myself. Number three is our wing spiker - Sasaya Takehito. Number six is another wing spiker - Futakuchi Kenji. You've already met Aone, the crucial centre of our iron wall. Number twelve and thirteen are a wing spiker and libero respectively - Obara Yutaka and Sakunami Kosuke. There are other people here who are not officially on the team yet." He gestured over to a group of what looked like first years.

"Nice to meet you all." I bowed at them, feeling seriously overpowered by their presences. I was pretty sure that, that feeling would stay sewn into me for a while.


	6. Chapter 6

By the end of practice after school had ended, I started to understand the basics of volleyball. The premise was rather simple, however the strategy required a state of mind only pure geniuses possessed. Just from observing, you could understand how you need to have all of the cogs in your brain churning - but you couldn't understand just how much of the game was impacted by it. Sure, some aspects relied on just instinct, but the winner would always be the one to strategise. The practice was intense, not even our own team could get past the iron wall half of the time. 'Iron wall' seemed like such an intimidating name, blocking everything in its path and crushing down all who tried to get past - when it was truly just a measure of protection for our field of grass behind it. The wall was a sneering enemy to our opposition but a great protector to us.

As I was packing up the chairs, Futakuchi sneaked around behind me, "Your highness..." He whispered into the air.

"What is it this time, Futakuchi?" I didn't turn around - trying my best to ignore him and his antics.

"What's the deal with you and Aone?" He snickered.

"Nothing."

"Your highness... I don't really believe that. Why are you always with each other? Could it be something interesting?" He leered over my shoulder, though I couldn't see his face - I could still see his grimace.

"We just catch the same train. Nothing more." I replied curtly, quickly scurrying away from him.

His pace matched mine, trailing behind me at the same rhythm, "I don't think that's very believable. Aone's not that kind of person, you know."

"How am I meant to know that, I only met all of you yesterday." I finally turned around to face him; my arms folded in a very annoyed manner.

"The thing is your highness, Aone is the type of person to shy away from everyone, like he's somehow scared of what people will think." Futakuchi sneered, moving to match his height to mine.

I understood that feeling all to well, and I understood why Aone felt that way too. One person could tell you that your true nature was too much to handle, you were told that people would think badly of you if you didn't mask yourself. So you began to act how you presumed people wanted you to act, never raise a hand in objection, never praise yourself - for people will think of you as narcissistic. Along with many other things. Those teachings were partly to blame as to why crowds were such a problem to me, there would always be someone looking at me, and judging me... And I wouldn't even know. Maybe somehow, Aone thought that very way too, but only sometimes of course.

I cockily raised my eyebrow, "Maybe he's just like that with you, I doubt anyone would feel comfortable with you around." That didn't make sense at all. I had no clue why I just said that.

"Good point there, your highness. I bid you farewell." He bowed elegantly, one arm flourished to the side. When he rose, he looked behind me and nodded as the smirk on his face rose again. Once he had became a comfortable distance away from me, I swivelled around to meet the sight behind me - Aone. Who knew how long he had been standing there and how much of our conversation he had listened to.

"Hey, Aone..." My voice slightly cracking as I said that, "Have you been standing there for long, sorry if I didn't notice you." In return - he shook his head. It was relieving to say that he didn't listen in on that rather out of the blue conversation, even if it carried little meaning to him. Would I have felt differently if he did hear it? Was there really any difference at all, nothing had been revealed during our conversation.

After that, I headed to the club room, the only place where I knew nobody would disturb me - I took my time to get changed, hoping everyone would have cleared out before I left. In a swift click, the key turned in the lock, closing the club room for the day. Descending the stairs, I didn't look up from my feet - I habit I had learned years ago in order to draw attention away from me. The last step was then behind me, and something else stood in front of me. Aone. As silent as ever. No other team member was here, so he had no purpose in staying at practice a second longer - even for me. "Aone..." I calmly spoke, in a tone close to a whisper, "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

Once again, he shook his head and we set off in the direction of the train station. Side by side in silence. Compared to yesterday, the scenery still struck me with a beautiful sight, somehow better than the day before. Nothing there was new, but to me - it was still as new as it had been. Weirdly, the streets were devoid of human presence, we didn't see a single person the entire team. It probably should have struck me as weird. Instead, the atmosphere was much more peaceful and rather comforting. Titling my head up to the sky, clouds the pallor of monotonicity shrouded the heavens - at that very moment, they began releasing their wrath onto the world, pelting icy pellets onto the ground. This slightly explaining why no one was outside. Had they all been warned about the weather? And how come I hadn't noticed the sky until now? Its appearance was blatantly obvious.

My hands quickly shot upwards to protect my head from the hail, the only viable protection I had at the time. Down the road, there was a black pine tree - a sanctuary for the time being. Upon seeing it, I started pelting towards the tree, Aone next to me the whole time having no problem at all with keeping my pace. Even though the tree wasn't kilometres away, we were still thoroughly drenched by the time we found our shelter. The tree didn't completely cover us, but little drops of ice were much more tolerable than the merciless storm not so far away. It definitely wouldn't be clever to leave our shelter before the storm had subsided, drenched school clothes and supplies wouldn't put us in the best situation either.

I rifled through my bag to find my volleyball jersey, and covered my head with it. It wasn't completely waterproof but the dire situation called for those very measures. There was nothing else we could do, I didn't dare read my book for the fact that I'd ruin the pages beyond recognition. All we could do was just sit there, nothing to do and nothing to say.

A few minutes passed before one of us tried to spark up a conversation, "Hey Aone, are you okay?" I attempted to turn my head towards him just to see him sat there, his knees up to his chest with his head resting upon them - he had nothing over his head to protect it. The only thing on his face besides the melted ice was a worried expression and a pallor, ghostlier than it normally was. My question didn't really need a verbal answer. Tenderly, I placed my hand upon his shoulder, to comfort him - just like he had done for me. He too, jumped at the touch, his body was so tense, it was almost statuesque. A drop of melted ice drip down onto his nose - causing him to scrunch it up like a cute little animal. Feeling almost sorry for him - I transferred my jacket over onto his head, he was the one who really needed it. As soon as I did that, he placed the jacket back onto my head - and I wasn't having any of that and plonked it straight back onto him. Trying to be chivalrous; he once again let the jacket fall onto my head, but I wasn't going to settle for that. I shifted my body just inches closer to his and draped the jacket over the both of us, and when I did that, he let his tense stature fall into one that was slightly more relaxed.

Who knew how long we sat there under my jacket, but the colour of the sky did seem to darken. However, the hailstorm never faltered for a second - there wasn't a moment where it had calmed down. As the time flew by, my body began to grow more and more numb from the weather, there wasn't anything I could do to ameliorate that. For all I knew we would be sat there for hours longer.

Abruptly, a car horn honked, sending its soundwaves scattering through the air. The car was all to familiar to me, my dad's. Finally feeling some sort of relief; I dashed towards it, leaving Aone behind. "Aone! Come here!" I shouted towards the tree, and he simply shook his head. He wasn't going to move. So, I had no choice but to run back to him, grab him by the arm and lead him towards my father's car, I couldn't let him wait outside for what seemed to be forever. "Get in, we'll drive you home." I stated in a very stern tone - he was going to get in that car. He seemingly gave in to me and slumped in the back seat of the car, his expression however, turning back into what could be mistaken for a glare. Hopping in beside him, I noticed how absolutely waterlogged we were. After all, the tree did very little to shelter us. I slammed the door shut, finally away from the hail storm.

My father did not seem surprised by the extra passenger in his car, even though he had never met them previously. He was even quick to start conversation by creating small talk, and I tried to answer every question for him as he wouldn't do it himself. There was one question that I couldn't answer. His address. What Aone answered with was quite the interesting piece of information, he lived at a house barely 5 minutes away from mine, just one train stop away. 

After turning the radio on, I rested my head on the side of the car, just craving the warm embrace of my bed. When Aone walked up to his front door, a lively beagle jumped up at his legs - Aone's face morphed into a large smile, however, the smile wasn't large per say, but for him - it was the biggest smile I had seen on him. Smiling and waving as we drove away, my dad cheerily started chatting again. "You seem to get along with him well don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, my eyes wandering around the world outside.

"Does he not speak much normally?" He inquired.

"Not really," I replied, "I guess we can talk in different ways though."

"That's interesting, other than that he seems quite nice."

"Yeah." My mind drifted from the present, focusing on nothing - I was just... There.

After we had arrived home, I jumped straight into the shower - wanting to wash the scent of the outside off of me. Warm water was such a pleasant feeling against my skin, I would have stayed in there all night if it wasn't for the water going cold and I wasn't feeling very welcoming towards the cold at that very moment in time. I took my time drying myself and my hair, before just rolling myself up in my covers, feeling secure, feeling safe. I fell asleep in that very same position, dreaming about nothing, nothing but a bridge overlooking a lily-endowed river. 


	7. Chapter 7

While sitting at the table eating breakfast, my father practically sprinted down the stairs to greet me with a cheery smile plastered upon his face like usual. He quickly engaged me in conversation, "Soooo... About that Aone guy... You seem pretty close to have only known each other for a few days. Might there be something between you?"

I had half the mind to face plant into my plate of food, "No, Dad.” I replied unenthusiastically, rubbing my browbone.

"Then why were you walking home together?" He cupped his hands in his face playfully, taking part in the typical annoying parent trope.

"You know how I'm the manager of the boys' volleyball club?"

"Yes..." He cooed in a sing-song voice.

"Well, Aone's just a member of it." I stated, bored of his prying behaviour.

"Just? Alright then..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I raised my eyebrow, genuinely puzzled.

"I just know my child..." He declared, completely dodging the question. I scrunched my face in confusion, but not bothering to probe him any further.

It wasn't long until my train set off, so I waved my father goodbye - my mother nowhere to be seen - as always. The sun lightly shone through the clouds, a beautiful contrast to the day before. And of course, when I entered the train carriage - Aone was situated in the very same seat as the two previous days; and once again I sat next to him. Unfortunately, I never harboured any doubts that he wouldn't be by himself, the fact of that was a little disheartening - but, I guessed that people here were always pretty quick to judge a person. "So Aone, are you feeling any better than yesterday?" And as always, he met my question with a swift nod. But what followed that was perhaps the most unexpected thing I had heard in quite a while. A sneeze. But not just any sneeze, it was so high pitched and just delicate - it was a shock to hear it coming out of his mouth. I almost reacted with an 'awe' but stopped myself before. It probably would have been a little embarrassing for him if I did. "Ah, so you caught a cold? I'm sorry, you didn't have to stay with me yesterday." He closed his eyes then shook his head, as if to say 'it's all fine'.

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I fumbled around in my bag for my book. The black-eyed susan was the subject of my present page. Although its core meaning was justice, it could be given in two very different scenarios. The first was if long awaited justice had finally been awarded to you - the flower was congratulatory. However, it could also be given as a condolence, for example if the justice system had wronged you or you or one of your loved ones were in need of the sweet glory of justice. The base meaning was still justice, but how the little branches of its subliminal meaning could bend was just fascinating. But no matter what, giving that flower to someone always signified injustice being present in the first place.

As always, I made sure to turn the pages slowly so Aone could read alongside me - side by side in silence. However, the train ride felt to have flown by in a matter of minutes and we were soon on our way to school, relishing the cool air lapping at our faces, not a single word was spoke between us at that time but it still felt like we hadn't stopped talking ever since I stepped onto the train. Maybe to an outside perspective, we would have seemed to be ignoring each other. It was anything but that, it could be described as something similar to telepathy - but without the communication.

-

Everything before lunch break rolled by pretty smoothly, it was fair to say there wasn't even a single little mishap. When I sat at a bench by myself, I felt a familiar overwhelming presence making their way towards me. "Hey, (Y/N)!" Hiroko squealed, as much a ball of energy as always.

"Hey Hiroko, you okay?" I asked, at a much lower energy output to her.

"I'm doing amazing! How are you doing?" She bounded around the ground, not caring about the eyes she brought our way.

"I'm fine I guess. By the way - where's Rea?"

"Rea! She got pulled away to talk to the teacher at the end of the lesson! She's so cool and pretty isn't she?!" Hiroko chortled, her eyes filled to the brim with child-like excitement.

"Sure she is." Normally I would be slightly agitated by a person exuding her level of energy, but something about her was just somehow... enthralling. Maybe it was her free spirited-ness, or something else entirely...

"(Y/N)! How's the volleyball club going? Did you decide to join? If so, what's everyone like?" Hiroko bombarded me with questions, I was unsure of which to answer first.

"Yeah, I joined and its good, I guess."

"Wait! That's so amazing! You're so cool! What are the players like?" It amazed me how she was even at high school, yet alone her second year.

"Oh, they play really well - I can really see where they got the iron wall nickname from. It's actually quite fun watching them play."

"No, silly! I meant the people, what are they like out of the court?!" She laughed at my mistake, but in an innocent manner, not a condescending one.

"The captain seems like a good guy. Their number six is... I don't think he's even human, and not in a good way. Aone doesn't speak much but I guess I know him the most - if that makes sense. And I don't really know the rest of the team very well yet."

"Huh?" She titled her head to the side, "How do you know him the most if he doesn't speak?"

"I guess communication is more than just conversation." I don't know why that came out of me, it wasn't a thought I had been pondering on at all - I guess it was just my thoughts from somewhere coming into the outside world.

"That sounds a bit weird." She snickered, uttering a childish giggle.

As I tried to eat my lunch - undisturbed - Hiroko still carried on bombarding me with questions about random facts about how cool Rea was. Their friendship was sort of peculiar to me - Hiroko was a firecracker, never afraid of people's thoughts nor was she afraid to express herself fully. On the other hand, Rea was much more reserved - from what I could tell. She didn't ever seem like she had any passion for anything either. It seemed as if Rea was just dragging her feet behind Hiroko whilst following her, however - from what I could sense, it was Hiroko who was the puppy walking behind Rea - looking up to her as if she was a big sister figure.

The rest of the day went by as smoothly as it could. After all, I had social studies - the feared class where I sat next to the grimace. However, he didn't try to provoke me once - which was very strange - instead, he sat his arms folded and expression blank, a rare but pleasant sight to see. I couldn't complain, even if his silence was a extremely strange occurrence.

But after school had ended, he sneakily snaked his arm around my shoulders, "So your highness... I heard you went to Aone's house last night - do you mind explaining?"

"For god's sake, Futakuchi. My Dad and I just dropped him off at his house." I tried to push his arms away from me, but he only clung onto me tighter, "Could you kindly let go of me?"

His arm returned to his side, only for him to bow with his arm flourished to the side once again, "Of course your highness, but I do have one other question..."

"What would that be?" I spoke through gritted teeth, trying not to smack him in his smug little face.

"May I inquire as to why you too were together in the first place?"

"I don't have to tell you anything, Futakuchi." Once again, I tried to up my pace to escape his leering sneer, but it just kept clambering onto my steps.

"My, my, my - your highness... That sounds highly suspicious." He snickered into my ear, my body began slightly shivering with rage.

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over the both of us - and of course it was the snowy mountain himself, Aone. As if on cue, Futakuchi began to scuttle away with his tail between his legs, it was simply a heart-warming sight. I mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Aone as I too, shuffled away - in order to get the bibs to hand out. Last night, someone must have left them to dry on the viewing deck. And they were right there. Climbing up the ladder was no problem, nor was climbing back down - though I must admit, with the bibs, it was slightly more difficult than before. I then proceeded to hand them out to their respective players. However, as I was handing the last bib to the libero, a rouge volleyball just started flying through the air as if it had been spiked.

But spiked directly at my face...


	8. Chapter 8

A sharp bout of pain erupted from my face, luckily I hadn't been knocked out - but I'm pretty sure I nearly was. My eyes stung with the great amount of pain exuding from my nose, the force from the ball had surely disrupted something. As if on cue, a warm liquid began seeping down my nostrils, a red liquid. I quickly pinched the bridge of my nose and rolled my head backwards, in an effort to not let my blood splatter onto the gym floor. Everyone's faces turned around to mine, along with a sheepish looking Futakuchi rubbing the back of his neck. Before any of them could make their way over to me, Kamasaki strutted up to Futakuchi and held him the the neck of his shirt - beginning to throw him around rather violently, screaming all kinds of obscenities into his face. It was fair to say that it was absolute chaos, chaos that wouldn't stop any time soon.

One sentence I could determine out of Kamasaki's bellowing was a demand of an apology directed at me. Making it obvious that the grimace was the one to spike to ball at my face. The news didn't surprise me - and I doubted that it'd surprise me if the spike was intentionally aimed at myself, after all - it was Futakuchi. Their dispute didn't seems to be slowing down, despite the whole team - including Moniwa begging them to stop. However, when Aone tried to put himself between them - their little joust halted almost immediately. Almost like Aone's presence scared them well enough into submission.

While everyone else was focused on the ended quarrel, I attempted to sneak out - so I could make it to the bathroom to clean myself up, only for Futakuchi to run up behind me - closely followed by Aone. "I'm sorry (L/N)," He whispered, acknowledging me by my name for the first time, "Feel free to spike me in my face if you want." His voice felt guilty, a stark contrast to his cocky personality.

"It's okay, Futakuchi." I smiled at him, which felt so peculiar that it almost made me cringe. I ushered him away with a curt nod of my head. He walked away obediently, his head hanging lower than his knees. It would have cruel to admit that I found his guilt almost funny. Once again, I tried to leave the gym, this time I managed it - however, Aone still followed closely behind me. I didn't mind his company. Once we arrived at the bathroom; he waited outside the ajar door as I finally let the staunched blood flow from my nose trickle into the sink. There wasn't an abundant amount of blood nor was there a sparse amount, but you could hardly call any blood flow average. Looking in the mirror - my face was still coloured with a reddish hue from the impact of the ball, I proceeded to wash the rest of the blood from under my nose.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Aone peering into the bathroom looking slightly concerned. I honestly didn't understand why he came just to stand outside of the bathroom, but the fact that he was there was the important part. After grabbing a towel and drying my face, then grabbing some tissues for safety precautions - I shuffled my way over to him, smiling through the faint pain still pulsing through my face. I held the tissues up to my nose, hoping to catch any excess blood with it. "Thanks for staying here, Aone." I professed. Without speaking any words, he replied - by nodding and his lip curling up, but only on the left side as always. Out of the blue, he sneezed with the high and delicate tones identical to that morning. That sneeze coming from him was just purely adorable, perhaps even more adorable than before. 

"(L/N), are you feeling better?" He questioned, his deep voice almost at the volume of a whisper. That was the first time he said my name, overall it wasn't really a big thing - but somehow him saying my name just made me feel just the littlest bit happier on the inside.

I was taken aback by his sudden use of words, "Yes, I am. Even if it does still sting a little."

His face dropped upon hearing that, it fell into something I could discern as a scowl of unhappiness or disappointment. It didn't seem he felt that way because I was in pain, but rather the reason why I was in pain. And of course, that was Futakuchi. I made it obvious to Futakuchi that I held little to no resentment towards him due to his little escapade, however it seemed like Aone was holding onto that resentment for me. But, his invitation of a spike to his face as punishment was still open and part of me just ached to do it out of spite.

When I entered the gym once again, only one person acknowledged it, and of course it was my vicious attacker. Automatically, I made eye contact with him, only for him to snap his neck in a different direction - his face painted with an expression of guilt. But, I didn't have time for anything like that - I headed up to the office to try and book some practice matches for the team, we did need the practice and the chance to observe our potential opponents - no matter who they were.

Almost every school in the prefecture had rejected us, the other schools being ones I knew we would have no chance in playing. There was only a small list of schools outside the prefecture, but all I could do was hope. Call after call, every team denied us, until there was only one school left the list. A school all the way from Tokyo. I hesitantly dialled them and after a few rings they picked up. The person on the other side of the call was the first to speak.

"Good afternoon, is that Date Tech High calling?"

"Yes it is, thank you for returning my call."

"You're welcome. What is it you wanted to inquire about?"

"I was wondering if we could arrange a practice match, no problem if that isn't possible."

"That'd be great, however, we are only free two weeks from now and for a limited amount of time that day. So it would have to be held here."

"That is completely fine. Thank you very much for entertaining my request."

"You're welcome again, however I do have to warn you about our ace, he can be more than a little unpredictable."

"Well I'm sure we can work our way around it, see you then."

"I doubt you will. See you then."

-

And I had done it, I'd fixed us our first practice match of the year... Against a powerhouse school, and from what I knew - one of the top five aces in the country. I was sure it'd be very difficult seeing as they had been making it to nationals for the past few years. Fukurodani Academy was our first opponent of the year, and that was rather exciting. Sure there was only a minimal chance of success, but other Miyagi schools probably wouldn't compare to a powerhouse school like them.

I basically ran down to the gym, rearing to break the news I had. But when I arrived at my destination, everyone was too engrossed in their practice to pay any attention to me. Avoiding any stray balls, I sauntered my way over to the coach, telling him that I had something to tell the team. And once he called them all to attention, they sat around me like a bunch of interested children.

"Okay so... I've managed to book you all a practice match. They were the only school that could play us - all the way in Tokyo. They're called Fukurodani Academy. Now, they are a powerhouse school with one of the nation's top five spikers who I've heard is very unpredictable, but I'm sure our iron wall will be of some competition to them. It takes place two weeks from now, and I hope you'll all do your best."

I was sure that their faces would be full of an elated expression, yet their faces were plastered with pure and utter shock.

Moniwa was the first to break the chilling silence, "Thank you so much, (L/N). A practice match against a team like Fukurodani is truly an opportune thing."

Almost in a blink of an eye, the team's faces - excluding Aone - all lit up with the excitement I'd been expecting. But before they had any time to celebrate - the coach instructed them to get back to practice and celebrate once it was all over. I too, had things I needed to do - for example book our overnight accommodation for two weeks in the future. There were only a few places in our price range and willing to house a whole volleyball team. To be exact, there were only 3. The first was the cheapest, but the furthest away from the venue, and it couldn't house our whole team, meaning most of the first years would have to stay home. The second was a cute little inn next to a river, both the pricing and distance regarding our venue were moderate. The last was only slightly under the budget yet was extremely close to Fukurodani Academy.

After thinking about it, I decided the best option for accommodation was the averagely priced and distanced inn, after all - it was the only option without any major downsides - the whole team could stay and there was still a little amount of money left over. Even though the match was two weeks away - I could already feel the excitement beginning to boil up inside of me.

By the time I had finished with all my managerial business, I headed back down to the gym to find that practice had already finished and the team had nearly finished tidying up. It seemed that there were a few rouge balls that needed returning to their home, so two by two I put them all back. Once that task was finished, I headed to the clubroom so I go home for the day. The clubroom was the only place where I could be guaranteed to be left alone, even at home - there were always people looming on the other side of the door.

Just like yesterday, I took my time readying myself for the walk down to the train station. I knew because of how much time I spent in there, I'd have to catch a later train, which if I did, I knew my mother wouldn't be happy with when I got home, but the chances of her being there in the first place were slim. I tried to get those thoughts out of my head while walking down the stairs, but my brain must have been going into its overload mode.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Aone, even though waiting there caused him to miss his train - but I was sure he had his reasons for staying. But If his reason was simply just to wait for me, it would honestly have made me feel like a burden to him. He shouldn't go out of his way for a person who he hasn't even known a week. "Aone... You didn't need to wait for me, you've probably missed your train by now - I'm sorry." I uttered solemnly.

"Don't apologise." He declared, his voice sounding more confident than the last time he spoke.

"Okay, just don't wait for me again. Especially if it is to your detriment." I sighed, just feeling really uncomfortable that someone did something for me that didn't benefit them. In return, he shook his head. I could say so many things to retort to that in opposition, but I decided to stay silent; in fear of starting something unnecessary. 

We walked for a while in complete silence - but it wasn't a pleasant silence for me: I felt like internally and externally screaming. The silence stayed around us in a stagnant air until a cheery little dog being walked by its owner trundled passed us. That reminded me of the beagle I saw at Aone's door the day before. "Hey Aone... I saw your dog yesterday, it was really cute." When he heard that he almost blushed - the reason behind him flushing red; I didn't know but it was still kind of adorable either way.

I tried to look away from his face, I knew I'd feel a bit embarrassed if I looked at him for any longer, only to look at my watch and learn that we had ages before the next train came. And suddenly, a rather spontaneous idea pooped into my head. I had read last night about the bay tree and how it symbols everlasting glory, any good garden centre would have one and that was where we were going to go.

"Okay, this may sound crazy but can you follow me?" Aone sheepishly nodded his head, his face still emblazoned with the same shade of red. I had a rough idea as to where the garden centre was, it wasn't that far away.

By following the route of my memory - the garden centre soon came into view, at least we hadn't gotten lost. The whole way Aone followed my footsteps, most definitely confused about what my plan was. The shop was only small, making it rather easy to navigate. The bay trees were near the back, all at reasonable prices. There was rather a selection of them, but one stood out to me the most - a bay tree sapling. I thought that maybe a sapling would carry more meaning as it and its glory would grow alongside each other, not to mention something else.

While making my way to the counter to pay, I explained to Aone what the meaning of the bay tree was, his face seemed to hint that he was feeling a little bit impressed. After paying and leaving the centre, I presented the sapling to Aone, as a gift and as an apology for burdening him earlier. Even though it was only small, he held onto the tree with both of his hands as if to not let it go. Even after we got on the train, he still never let a single single become unlatched from it, he never even let his eyes wander away from it, almost as if it would disappear if he looked away.

"Thank you so much." He spoke out of the blue, but quietly enough so that only I could hear him, his face finally smiling with both sides of his mouth - it was a happiness I'd never seen come from him before. I may have been hallucinating - but his eyes almost seemed to sparkle beneath the light. Aone almost seemed like a different person - his stoic exterior had dropped, but only a little - just so I could begin to see the real him.

The rest of the journey home seemed to go by in a flash, by then it was my time to get out of the carriage. For some reason - gifting him the glory tree had just elevated my mood to a whole new high. As I walked passed the glass that Aone was behind, I waved goodbye to him, a huge smile upon my face. The thing I saw next completely shocked me, Aone waved back, also having a smile upon his face. Not just any normal lip curl of his - but an actual smile, the most perfect, textbook example of one. Walking home, I could hardly contain my elation - normally receiving a smile from someone was a run of the mill thing, but I had no idea why seeing Aone smile directly at me like that just made me so delighted yet so uneasy on the inside. I didn't want that feeling to leave me.

(A/N) Sorry that this chapter's a bit longer than usual, so we'll just chalk it down as a gift for Aone's birthday.


	9. Chapter 9

Before I entered my house, I tried to curtail my emotions - expecting to see my mother's condescending expression at soon as I stepped past the threshold. And even though her shift at work had finished for the day, of course she wasn't home. The house was empty, just like always. That sight morphed my mood into one of a much lower level, I wasn't always on the best terms with her; but her being there just hinted that she cared in the littlest sense of the word. But obviously, she never was.

Since I was alone, I decided to make something simple for tea, seeing as though it was a meal for one. With a swift click, I set a pan of water to boil and began chopping some vegetables. After they were all diced to the measurement of my liking, piece by piece they were plopped into the pan. Whilst waiting for them to boil, I seemingly zoned out for the rest of the meal preparation. Everything was cooked perfectly but my mind wasn't present during the process. I fixed myself a glass of water and then sat down to indulge in the comestibles I had prepared. It tasted just fine, nothing more - after all, meals enjoyed in the company of yourself were always just the bit bland.

As I was washing up my plate and silverware, a loud ring echoed from the doorbell letting me know that someone was waiting behind the door. I half expected it to be some kind of delivery, yet it wasn't that at all. While unlocking the door, a hound of some sort howled from behind it. However, there wasn't just the hound standing there. Beside it stood the snowy mountain himself, holding a lead connected to the same beagle I had seen the day before. The reason as to why they stood there wasn't blatantly obvious. Perhaps there was no meaning to him standing there.

In a rare occurrence of events - Aone was the one to start a conversation, "Do you want to come with me?" He asked me, with his eyes dead-bolted onto the floor - almost as if he felt embarrassed.

"Yeah I'd love to, but I'll have to leave my parents a note." It sure was an unexpected situation, but it was rather uplifting to see someone at my house. I quickly shuffled over to a notepad and jotted my explanation down.

'I'm out on a walk, I'll be back soon. -(Y/N)'

After slipping a jacket over my shoulders, I laced my shoes up - and I was then ready to leave the house. "Do you have any idea of where we're going?" I inquired. Aone nodded, so I trusted him and followed his lead. His dog was a lively little creature - who was also very... talkative. From looking at its collar, I realised that his name was Shiro. He seemed to have no problem with me, but every other moving object that contained life - he would howl endlessly at. At least until Aone tugged on the lead, and after that he'd immediately quiet down.

Minutes passed as I followed Aone down a route I had never set foot upon before, that path was much more endowed with nature than any other street I had seen - with buildings few and far between. Compared to the rest of the town, it seemed like a different place entirely, even though the sun was shining radiantly through the gaps in the clouds, I saw but one person on the same path as us. We walked for a little longer, only for Aone to turn down a much narrower and dingy path that was hardly noticeable to the unassuming eye. It didn't take long to walk down, but after we exited that pathway - it was like a whole new world had been thrust into our grasp.

An abundance of fully-bloomed sakura trees outlined the clearing, completely blocking out this haven from the rest of the world. Several stone pathways swirled around in the grass, each one of them leading to eclectic little 'attractions' of some sort. From my point of view, there was an elegant marble fountain near the left of the clearing. Right in the centre was a pavilion surrounded by a pristine moat and stream, it trickled around the whole vicinity; its waters clearer than air. It almost seemed to glisten under the sunlight, making the most comforting trickling sound I had ever heard. Even though the clearing was moderately sized, there wasn't another human there besides Aone and myself. However, there were countless birds and small animals roaming and soaring around. People had obviously been there before, but somehow it felt as if we were the first people to discover it.

Aone unclipped Shiro's lead, letting him run around freely - and he did just that, he zoomed in and around the trees taking not even a second to let anything distract him. Truly relishing the freedom that place brought him. Aone seemed that way too, his eyes wandered around, taking in the scenery - his expression seeming somehow blissful. We then made our way over to the pavilion, strolling next to the stream the entire way. Inside of it there was just a single wooden bench, overlooking the rest of the clearing - the paragon of serenity.

"How do you know about this place?" I asked. 

"I don't know." He replied, his resonant tones weaving through the atmosphere. He must have been there before, recently or an age ago, both time frames were plausible. Either way, a place like this must have some importance to him.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Aone. It's just gorgeous." I divulged. Out of the corner of my eye, I observed him nodding his head. There wasn't much need for conversation in a place like this.

Abruptly, four scampering paws hurtled into the pavilion, Shiro was slightly panting from his sprinting, so he jumped up onto the bench to join us - leaning his head on my lap. As I ran my fingers across his sumptuously silky fur, his eyes gradually closed - letting him fall into a state of slumber. It almost looked like he was carrying a smile upon his face. He appeared so peaceful and nonchalant.

I soon clocked Aone gazing at Shiro too, his eyes shining with adoration for the small creature. From what I had seen, Aone always seemed the happiest in the presence of his dog. Friendships with animals were always enthralling to me, two living things from different species and walks of life forming a great connection with each other, but without understanding anything the other one spoke. Perhaps that was why Aone loved Shiro to the extent that he did, they couldn't literally understand each other, but somehow - deep down somewhere - they could.

I'm sure we sat there for nearly an hour - enjoying each other's company to the fullest, side by side in silence. The hue of the sky darkened as many sakura petals gently cascaded all around us. I was positive we would have stayed there forever if we could, had it not been for the rather urgent text I received from my mother.

-

'(Y/N), why aren't you home? Come back here right now.'

"Sorry, Mum. I'll be right back.'

-

As always, she was right there to ruin the perfect scenario. Quickly informing Aone of my mother's command, I made sure to walk at an elevated pace for the entire journey home. Aone stayed beside me the whole time; Shiro happily trotting beside us, seemingly more exhausted than the first half of our journey.

After arriving at my house, I apologised to Aone about the inconvenience I had caused him once again. I spoke a solemn farewell to him and Shiro before hesitantly unlocking the door, only to be greeted by my mother's unimpressed face.

"Why weren't you at home, (Y/N)?" Her arms folded tightly over her chest as she leered over the brim of her spectacles.

"I've just been out on a walk, I did leave you a note."

"And that note simply didn't suffice," She spat, "There was no apology about your absence nor where you were going on your walk. You didn't even ask my permission to leave."

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." I hopelessly sighed.

"I'm sorry isn't enough, (Y/N). You should know that - now go upstairs, you've disappointed me too much."

Tired of all the condescension spouting from her mouth, I dragged my feet up the staircase and towards my bed, just to flop straight onto it. Hardly half a hour ago, my word felt serendipitous and ethereal, now it had all come crashing down into a brick wall. At that point, I didn't feel like moving from my current position. The orc that was my mother had sucked all the passion and drive straight from my system. Who knew how long I laid there, but the sky morphed into its nightly pallor. A faint knock tapped against my door.

"Come in." I sighed monotonously.

My father crept into my room, careful not to let his footsteps make a single murmur, he whispered - his voice nearly inaudible, "You feeling any better, (Y/N)?" I shook my head, hardly having the energy to make a sound. He continued to converse, "Was your walk okay at least?" I nodded, my memory of the clearing spindling itself into my head. I must have smiled a little, as my father did seem to pick up on something, "Let me guess, you were with that Aone guy?" I don't know how he correlated what he saw as my faint happiness to him, but he was very correct. I didn't react to his question that time, however he still must have clocked onto something I did, "I'll take that as a yes, goodnight (Y/N)."

\---

For the next ten days, I continued to go out on walks to the clearing with Aone and Shiro, somehow growing even closer without the need for frivolous amounts of conversation. One aspect of those then days that could be described a frivolous was the amount of teasing I had to endure from Futakuchi - in lessons and during practice no less. It was surprising that I hadn't snapped at him yet.

During practice, I helped out a lot more - the team did seem to need it, due to their upcoming match against a powerhouse school. Somehow, their blocks improved in my eyes - adding a few extra inches onto that iron wall of theirs. Their overall power level somehow grew within those few days.

Hiroko and Rea hung around with me a lot during lunch, and Hiroko never curtailed her craziness for a nano-second. I thought I might had grown slightly accustomed to her antics. Rea, however, I could talk to in a 'normal' way, we seemed to get along by chatting about the dreary aspects of life. After all, all Rea ever did was complain about the things she didn't like.

Day by day, the excitement about our upcoming match in Tokyo riled up inside of me even further, and at that point... It was only four days away...


	10. Chapter 10

Arising on the Saturday morning, the atmosphere rang out with the sounds of the late morning. I never really awoke at such a late time, but at that moment my body and mind were in a rather large need of energy, as I had been worrying about our match - which on that day, was less than ninety-six hours away. I must had slept for at least ten hours, a far contrast to the miniscule amount of sleep I usually got.

After making my way to the dining table, my dad greeted me with a warm and welcoming smile, my mother nowhere to be seen. Once again, it wasn't surprising, just disheartening. "Good morning, (Y/N)." He declared, sipping on his mug of coffee.

"Morning, Dad." I said unenthusiastically.

"What's the matter? You never wake up this late." He looked me in the eyes, genuine concern laced in his face.

"I guess I'm just a bit nervous about going to Tokyo." I suspired, hanging my head in my hands.

"(Y/N)... You'll be completely fine - you're only spending one night there." He reached out and patted me on the head, something he had been doing since I was a toddler.

"I guess so... Thanks, Dad."

Soon after that, my dad started droning on about how he'd been getting a large influx of customers in the last few days, he seemed so excited that his business was finally going somewhere. It was quite a nice sight seeing him in such a purely happy mood. Quite quickly, I grew uninterested in his chattering, so when the opportunity struck, I sneaked away from the dining table and rapidly trundled up the stairs towards my room. I didn't really feel like making an effort with my outfit so I just threw on the first items of clothing I could find. They weren't exactly the most fashionable combination, but at that moment in time - I wasn't in the right frame of mind to care. I studied for a while, rerunning over the topics that I wasn't one-hundred percent confident in.

Once the clock hit half-past three, I decided to end up my studying portion of the day. My throat was rather dry at that point, so the most logical thing to do was to head downstairs for a glass of water, so I did just that. However, when I opened my bedroom door - a little piece of paper fluttered down from it. It had obviously been written by my dad, my eyes flicked across the paper; smiling at the little message he had left for me.

'I've just left for work a little early, but I didn't want to disturb you. See you later. P.S. Have a good time with Aone today. :)' 

As always, he had left a small smiley face at the end of his message - it was kind of a signature for him. But of course, he had to mention Aone, just like he did in nearly every conversation we had. He seemed quite supportive of our friendship, but just sometimes, his supportiveness was a little too over zealous. 

Since I had nothing else to do, I turned the television on with a swift flick of the remote, however - there didn't seem to be any programs that interested me. Most of them were generic, run of the mill shows - most of which had been previously aired. I continued channel surfing until I came across a history documentary about Isabella, the 'she-wolf' of France. History was always rather interesting to me - as every little thing in the past had lead to the exact circumstances of the present day. I always imagined that if one thing in the past had gone down a different path, everything as we knew it today could have been completely different.

It only took a few minutes for me to become fully engrossed in the television, I couldn't notice or become distracted by seemingly anything. I barely even took notice of the ringing of my doorbell, possibly it rang around three separate times before I snapped out of my trance. Immediately, I sprang towards the doorway, almost rushing the twist the keys in the lock - somehow dropping them in the process. I was even close to slamming the door open, trying to greet the visitor as quickly as possible. I knew who the visitors would be, after all - they did come here everyday, my walks with Aone and Shiro were definitely the highlights of my week.

But today, there was only one visitor waiting for me to open the door. Only Aone stood there, his face almost wiped over with the slightest hint of melancholy. I almost crouched down expecting one of Shiro's ecstatic greetings - but all that was next to Aone was a void, completely devoid of Shiro's presence. 

"I'm sorry for taking so long, but where's Shiro?" I asked, almost out of breath from my quick dash to open the door.

Aone's eyes almost seemed to prick with the flash of hurt, staying completely silent for nearly a minute - his body tensed up the the point that he looked as if he could snap in half. Every single hair on his head stood on end - perfectly vertical. Something was very blatantly wrong. Right before she whispered, his body shivered - presumably from the cold, but probably from what he was feeling. "...The …Vet..."

My heart skipped a beat upon hearing that, "Oh, Aone... I'm so sorry. Come inside and I'll make you some tea." He quickly obliged himself to my command, dragging his feet behind him, his head hanging low. Almost seeming like an empty vessel as he slumped down into the sofa, letting his entire mass sink into the cushions - he barely moved after that, almost as if he had been petrified.

As I stirred his tea, my hands were almost quivering. The sheer amount of nerves that were tweaking inside of me were indescribable, even though the dog wasn't even my own. Even while I handed the beverage over to him, the liquid swirled around in the mug - threatening to crash over the sides of its confinements. As he took the tea from my hands, the mug began shaking even more. I could see in his eyes just how terrified he was, my mind urged to know the full story. However, I couldn't dare question Aone about him, I was terrified of putting him under more stress - his expression was already pained to a point where it genuinely hurt me.

For what felt like an eternity, I stood inert - at a loss with what to do with myself. Without even giving it a thought, I plummeted down beside Aone, my hands grasping onto his shoulders - the same way he'd comfort me, our eyes deadbolted onto each other. 

Giving his shoulders tiny little squeezes, I endeavoured to solace him with my voice, "Aone, I'm confident that Shiro will be absolutely fine, he can get over anything."

Silence was returned to me, he didn't speak nor make any gesture to reply.

"Shiro wouldn't want you to feel like this, he'd want you to feel happy no matter what."

Silence.

"I'm sure you'll be fine - it won't be long until you can see him again - all happy and healthy."

Silence.

"Aone... I'm here if you need anything..."

Everything was silent once again, the air stagnant and melancholy... Until Aone just let his head fall, fall onto my shoulder - feeling tiny little wet patches drop from where his eyes rested. The tiniest sound escaped from his mouth, the most heart breaking sob I had I ever listened to. I just knew that he was trying to conceal the noise, but all to no avail. Almost immediately, my arms wrapped themselves around his broad back, drawing little circles into the cotton of his shirt.

Straight after that, he unmasked all of his pain - tears began cascading from his eyes - the sound of his sobs rising in a rapid crescendo. His whole stoic persona has crashed onto the ground and shattered into millions of pieces, now he was the embodiment of a child whimpering in my arms. The vibrations of his lamentation shook my body to the same rhythm as him. Almost in an instant he wrapped his arms around me, as if he was searching for a way to curtail his pain, he was close to crushing me with his strength - but that wasn’t a problem at that moment in time.

My whole body froze, making me as solid as a diamond. But also flushed with an immense flash of heat, my interior temperature surpassing that of molten lava, wiping the slate of my brain clean. Almost as if I had short circuited right on the spot - the whole world passed us by, leaving me like a stone statue - as if Medusa had just stared at me straight into my eyes. 

What seemed like hours flew by, with Aone still a crumpled heap in my arms. His whole weeping session must have exhausted him, gradually his tears grew close to a halt - calming down - if you could describe it as that. It took me a while to realise that he'd fallen asleep with his head still on my shoulder. Yet, his arms still remained wrapped around me, not an inch of strength was lost from his awoken state.

I couldn't move. I knew that if he woke up; he'd snap straight back into his lamentation. Even though I wasn't situated in a comfortable position at all, not once did I shift from that placement.

Several programs ran across the television, with each one passing, the sky grew darker and darker. Not once did Aone stir. As he slept, he almost seemed peaceful. No longer were tears streaming from his eyes, no longer was his breathing at an erratic pace. Once or twice, he even nuzzled his face further into my shoulder - his head almost resting in the crook of my neck, just like a baby. Little by little, signs of being in a dreamlike state exerted themselves from him - he began twitching, along with the movements of his dreams. One twitch in particular was rather violent, jerking him awake. Almost as if he had just been thrust out of the grasps of a nightmare.

He suddenly lurched upright, his eyes wide and worried. They almost had an element of shock in them, as if he was somehow confused about his current situation, after that he quickly shot up to stand on his feet - his flushed with an intense reddish hue. Almost immediately, he edged away from the sofa.

"What's the matter?" I inquired.

Rather than answering my question, he dodged straight around it - only to reply with something completely unrelated... "I'm sorry..." He darted his eyes away from me, trying to find some other object to focus on.

"Hey..." I sighed, moving myself into his line of sight, "There's nothing to be sorry about, you're just worried about Shiro."

Once again, he shifted his eyes away from me - folding his arms over his chest, as if to try and comfort himself. Hearing Shiro's name must have let a painful pang ricochet through him. Obviously uncomfortable, he swivelled around - trying to escape my company.

"Aone... You're not going anywhere without me going with you. You shouldn't be left alone right now." I attempted to keep up with him, eventually making it to the doorway before he could escape. I couldn't let him leave by himself.

He almost pouted as I blocked his exit, along with huffing out like an annoyed child. We stood in silence again, both of us unsure of what to do next, and after what felt like an age - Aone nodded - giving in to me. But after that, the atmosphere grew awkward with the stagnant silence. Desperately, I tried to break it. "...So... Would now be a good time for us to go see him?" I didn't mention Shiro's name in trepidation of upsetting Aone.

Aone stuttered, "I-I think s-so." His words were broken, mimicking the state of his mind. Without saying a word, I acknowledged his statement, grabbing my shoes and jacket - readying myself for the outside world, Aone too.

Somehow I could sense both of our anxiousness, I tried to ameliorate my mental state by taking a deep, deep breath. And with that, we stepped over the threshold to the outside world - ready for any news that could be thrown upon us. But even though we were ready... It didn't mean that the news couldn't break us.


	11. Chapter 11

Beside me, I could sense Aone's pure fretfulness. His exterior exerted his usual stoic presence, yet the smallest draft of a broken child drifted through the cracks in his skin. Second after second, those cracks grew larger and larger until he seemed frail enough to snap. But we were outside, in the blatant view of the rest of the world - from what I knew - Aone wasn't a person to let his guard down in front of just anyone, somehow I felt the exact same way. But I was certain that the reason behind him was something entirely opposed to mine, perhaps it was something even darker.

I tried to shake myself out of my deep pondering, it was selfish to think about myself in a time where Aone was trekking through the furnaces of hell - and he needed me to accompany him on that adventure. I was certain that he couldn't do it alone, he'd break. There wasn't a more eloquent way of putting that statement, nor could you sugar-coat it. 

Roaring skies bellowed up above us, winds howled in agony - all of their lamentations lashing and tearing through the atmosphere; almost biting at our skin, shredding our outwards protection into ribbons of devastation. Those deafening bellows closed off my hearing almost entirely, I couldn't hear anything - let alone my own thoughts.

Throughout the whole journey, the winds kept us separated, no matter how valiantly I quested to ameliorate his feelings... I just couldn't reach them. Normally, a trip to the vet shouldn't have caused Aone's level of anxiety, so maybe... It was so much more than just a trip to the vet. 

Hesitantly, my fingers gingerly edged the door open, shrouding us both in a whole new light of apprehension. The ring of the entrance bell almost seemed deafening - breaking the agonisingly tumultuous silence. Everything was unreal. No, I didn't understand the situation to the fullest extent; but somehow, deep inside of me - I just knew. Soon, we were welcomingly ushered into the establishment by a woman in a lab coat. Her hazel eyes oozed with the highest volume of empathy that I had ever witnessed, somehow she knew to be gentle with Aone, as if she knew him well.

Almost in a chain of reactions, we were now sat down in the waiting area - side by side in silence. A gargantuan urging churned inside of me to console him, in any way possible; a pat on the shoulder; some words of sympathy or maybe simply the warmth of another human against him, so that he knew he had at least one shoulder to weep upon. Almost identical to the situation beforehand - Aone began quivering, but ever so slightly. And as always, I was the only person in the nearby vicinity that could notice exactly how he felt. As if on instinct, my arm shot upwards to wrap it around Aone's shivering shoulders, but at least the the farthest that I could reach. 

His whole body jolted at my touch, almost as if he had recently been snapped back into the current reality. Quicker than a blink of an eye, his eyes snapped over to rest upon me, their unnatural glossiness glimmering underneath the light - searching for the slightest scrap of comfort to latch onto.

Never before had I gazed upon his face in a manner such as that, to me, he seemed a new person entirely. Not a single aspect on his face had been altered, however, there was just something inside of me that didn't recognise him. My eyes darted around until they latched straight onto his. At that point - I had the slightest inkling to avert my gaze, but I just couldn't, - there was something inside of him, scraping and pleading for just that one moment of comfort. And that was when he had located that source of comfort, in me, no less. His whole figure softened as if he had lost his skeleton. He was but an empty vessel of what he was before.

\---

The amount of time that flew past us was unfathomable, almost immeasurable. Time was always supposed to sprint forwards when you were enjoying yourself, and at that moment, both of those aspects were completely averse to the latter. The pure trepidation we were both enduring stretched out the time to the extent where a second was a terribly drawn out eternity.

"Mr. Aone Takanobu." The same woman that had greeted us spoke into the drab atmosphere. Within her eyes, I could sense something close to pity, all beneath the surface of empathy.

Gingerly, I rose from the chair, my legs almost buckling underneath me - but I knew, that I was the one who couldn't show any weakness, I was Aone's pillar of reassurance. If I toppled over, so would he; but his crash to the earth would be much more crushing. A faint tug rippled through the sleeve of my coat - Aone was gripping onto the fabric as if it was some sort of a lifeline for him. It was almost as if he was a terrified child cowering behind their mother. Even though he stood inches above myself, he didn't appear that way - his aura omitted that of a child, but not just any child, a scarred child, apprehending the worst.

As we were led to the veterinarian's office, sounds of weeping animals and humans echoed through the air, nothing was normal, nothing felt... right. The lady beckoned for us to take a seat, and the whole manner in which she conversed with us in simply unnerved me. Nothing was typically out of the ordinary - but it was at the same time.

Her shoulders rose and fell slowly, as if she was bracing for the impact of something intense. She began, "We have examined Shiro to the best of our abilities, however there was little to do for him. The symptoms he has displayed cannot match up with any diagnoses that we could offer you. To put it in simple terms, there is nothing much that we can do to help him."

Everything froze.

Everything froze, all except Aone and I. We were the only people in the world.

Almost instantly, Aone's eyes cascaded tears of sorrow, there was nothing to stop them from doing so. 

In the adjacent second, his body collapsed upon me for support, now was the time for his pillar to be there for him. Full instinct loomed over all my emotions, and I didn't even need to think of what to do next, I just simply... Knew... My one arm that wasn't already around his shoulders shot straight up to his hair - ruffling the tiny tufts gently. Twisting and curling a few of his ashen locks around the tip of my finger. The other presence in the room didn't matter to me as Aone's sturdy figure spluttered and choked inside of my arms. The amount of pain I was feeling due to the news that had recently been bestowed upon us was immense. But I couldn't even begin to imagine the sheer dosage of agony that he was going through, he had easily been close to Shiro for years and years at that point. Shiro seemed like the only living thing that Aone felt truly comfortable around, and now he was going to lose him.

Stinging slightly, my eyes began to be tickled by tears, threatening to surge over my eyelids - but a pillar can't crash. Aone's sobs rang out through the room, and then - not only was the news agonising, but so were the sounds of his fretfulness, perhaps even more so. Both our chests quivered in a calamitous rhythm, creating a song of desolation.

Breaking us out of our own little world, the lady almost whispered, "I'm guessing that you understand what I've said... I am extremely sorry to tell you this but, I don't think Shiro can last any more than a week living on this earth. However, we will supply him with some antibiotics to make his passing easier... Once again, I am so sorry."

What she said couldn't register with either of us, both of us being too occupied by the other's embrace.

I endeavoured to try and find Aone's eyes inside my own, only to see a harsh reddish hue emblazoned across them. He was a broken doll. I couldn't bear seeing him just so... hopeless. Therefore, in an effort to calm his lamentation, my hands hesitantly cupped themselves around his damp and blotchy cheeks, caressing my thumbs over them - wiping away his tears as I did so. He sank into them, using my hands as his only source of support.

"Aone... I can't imagine the amount of pain you're feeling right now: I know that Shiro is your best friend. I can't fathom losing someone close to me, especially if they're as close as you two are. You're inseparable. But, Aone... Please don't weep so. Shiro would want you to be happy, as he is still here with you... Even if not for much longer. I'm just so... sorry" I smiled hopelessly at him, trying to offer him the smallest shard of contentment that I could. Jittering, his palm cupped over one of mine, gyrating uncontrollably. I knew, in turn, he was attempting valiantly to comfort me too.

Nodding shakily, he spoke up for the first time since we had been at my house, "T-thank you, (Y/N)." His whole body jittered up and down with each one of his breaths - if you could call them that. Each one was so breathy, as if he was gasping for air. He was already drowning though. And I didn't know if I could save him.

\---

After at least a quarter of an hour of consoling Aone, we were finally allowed to see Shiro again, finally allowed to set our eyes upon that perfect life form that only had a small cache of days left on this Earth. His little body scampered down the hallway - and straight into Aone's arms, placing his paws upon his shoulders; wagging his tail at a breakneck speed. It was as if they hadn't seen each other for months... maybe years. Pure longing laced itself into Aone's expression, exuberating immense levels of elation - yet still exerting a hidden sense of dejection. 

With a snap of the fingers; his tears had miraculously evaporated, freeing him - but not completely - from his lamentation. Every hair on his body stood on end, smiling an unfiltered grin from ear to ear, babying Shiro with his words.

That sight was truly gorgeous, the two clutched onto each other as if the world was about to end, and it was about to. But only for him.

Overwhelming joy flushed through me - making my heart skip several beats. Dropping to my knees, I positioned myself adjacent to Aone, beckoning for Shiro to come over to me. And even though Shiro and myself had hardly known each other for a week, he still leapt into my arms all the same. His hazel eyes glimmered in the artificial light, outputting something childlike and innocent. Running my hands up and down his fur, I noticed how soft it was, not a single strand was the littlest bit coarse.

I began to laugh under my breath, but I couldn't understand why. Was it grief? Was it apprehension? Or was it happiness? A single tear rolled down my left cheek, and once again - I didn't understand why.

Cheery howling flew through the air, ebbing out from Shiro's mouth; and all of a sudden he had cranked up his volume of giddiness to a whole other level. Jumping up and down on his two hind legs, he gathered enough force to knock me over - and abruptly I laid on the laminate floor of the veterinarian's with Shiro bounding around over and on top of me. Almost winding me at one point.

Every ounce of lamentation had disappeared from the establishment - replaced by an aura of pure joyousness. Very soon, we were beginning to overstay our welcome - therefore we hooked him up to his lead and set out, once again, out into the outside world.


	12. Chapter 12

Normally, sharing silence with Aone was a rather comfortable endeavour, but there was something about that walk home that churned the silence into something petrifying. In fact, most of my time spent with him was in silence - however something inside me yearned to hear him speak - to let me know that he wasn't completely shattered. Yet, I didn't want to break the leering silence in trepidation of something unknown to me. Almost at that very second, Aone took on that burden for me... "(Y/N), am I a bad person?" He questioned in a meek manner.

I halted all movements upon hearing that, "No... Not at all... Why would you think that?"

His anguished face stared at the pavement, pausing for a small eternity, "I-I don't know..." He sucked in a shaky breath, "Never mind."

"Hey..." I almost cooed, lifting his head up to face him with an equally quivering hand, "You can tell me anything you know, speak what ever is on your mind, Aone." Glossing over with tears, his eyes released a single tear down his reddened cheek. Gently, I wiped that droplet away with my thumb. Ever so valiantly, I tried to smile up at him - trying to offer the smallest inkling of comfort that I could muster.

Sighing through his nose, he uttered heart-wrenching words to me, "It's my fault that Shiro's sick. Maybe if I-I did something... then..." By then, he was close to spluttering out in the middle of the street. Until, I held a finger up to his quivering lips and shushed him.

"Listen to me." I said in a rather stern tone, "Nothing to do with this is your fault. Nothing at all. I know you feel like you could have helped Shiro somehow. But... The world is a cruel place - especially for pure souls like you." I attempted to compose myself for a second, scared of crying also, "You love him more than life itself and you would do anything for him; I know this better than anyone else. I also know that you're worried like hell right now. So... Please do me and Shiro a favour and try to be happy for the both of us..."

As if on cue, Shiro began nuzzling on Aone's leg. And, upon seeing that, Aone let out an agonised smile. 

"Let's get you boys home then" I spoke, trying to sound a part more peppy to raise the spirits of the sinking atmosphere. Shiro wagged his tail gleefully. It was rather tragic that he was the happy one in that situation, but even so we journeyed on back to the place he'd call home.

Since that short spurt of a conversation, the heavy silence had released its relentless grip on our shoulders - letting us revel in the now almost glorious yet tragic silence.

That had been the first time I had been to his house, but it didn't seem like the nerve-wracking situation that it should have. We both hung up our coats and took our shoes off, almost as I lived there. And, as soon as Aone relieved Shiro of his harness - he trotted instantly onto the sofa - curling up in a messily strewn pile of blankets. Seeing him burrowed in them was a truly wonderful sight.

I instructed Aone to sit done with Shiro while I made him a cool glass of water, and while I did so, my eyes surveyed around his house. Nothing in there seemed out of place - it was simply spotless - as if the only residents were ghosts. Letting my mind drift, I wondered if the rest of the house was that pristine - especially Aone's bedroom. Those thoughts filled me up the the point that I didn't notice the water flowing over the confines of the glass. Cursing under my breath, I wiped the rouge water droplets from the sides of the glass.

As I walked in the room - a weighty aura surrounded me - once again the silence turned sour. Beside Shiro, lay Aone - with them almost looking into each other's eyes; it would have been an adorable sight if it wasn't for the words that Aone was whispering directly to his companion.

A heavy stream of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." spewed from between Aone's lips. Even though I had explained that he had nothing to be sorry for earlier - he obviously paid no mind to my words of comfort. Placing the glass onto the coffee table, I crouched in front of the sofa - ready to become his pillar once again.

"Aone... Please listen to me. Please don't say you're sorry - you have nothing to be sorry for." Whilst speaking those words, I struggled to make eye contact with him - in fear that I'd simply just breakdown, "Please just try not to put yourself at blame for this. There's nothing you could have done. " My voice began to get shakier, "And, I know you want to put this all right, hell - so do I. But sometimes, the world just works in cruel ways - and we have no power to change that... Now I know that what I'm saying is probably just hurting you even more. So, please, please, please, please, please try not to blame yourself for any of this. I don't know what I'll do if something bad happens to you. I'm just... so sorry, Takanobu." By that point, my head was in my hands, concealing the slow flow of tears rolling over my eyes.

That had been the first time I had called him by his first name - usually something that shows your closeness to someone - but really... It highlighted my desperateness. My breaths became slightly more laboured than usual, as my shoulders shook up and down.

In response to my small soliloquy, all he could muster was an abrupt, "I'm sorry." before breaking down yet again - hiccupping at an unkempt rhythm, curling into a ball as if he was trying to make himself disappear.

I reached my hand up to his head - running my hand through the tips of his hair, trying to soothe him like a lamenting child. Parting his lips, his breath hitched as he tried to curtail his sobs, and whilst nearly choking up again - he spluttered the words, "I just don't know what to do..." Seemingly, that was all he could muster before his shoulders shook with his laboured breaths. It really broke my heart to see him like that - a broken wreck of a man. 

By the time his tears had halted, the night had drew a pitch cloak over the sky - casting ghostly shadows all over his living room. That entire time, neither of us uttered a single word; we simply sat as the hours passed us by - waiting for something to happen.

Given that I had been gone for several hours, a text message from my dad popped up on my phone... "(Y/N), where are you? It's dark outside and I'm worried that you're out somewhere up to dastardly deeds. Just reply soon, okay? :)"

I laughed down at my screen, Dad of course being himself. It was almost funny. 

"Sorry, Dad. I'm just helping a friend out with their issues, I don't think you should expect me home tonight. They really need someone to be with them right now. See you later."

Aone must have been looking over my shoulder at the text, as he finally spoke up, "You can go home if you want to..." He almost whispered as his tired and gravelly voice flew straight into my ears.

Sighing under my breath, I explained to him exactly what I would be doing, "I think I'll stay here a bit longer, I don't think you can be left alone tonight. If that's okay with you..." If it wasn't for the dark shadows cast across the room, he probably would have noticed the reddish hue spread across my cheeks.

"Oh, uh... sure... That's fine..." He stuttered, hesitating between each word. At least he didn't offer me any opposition.

Straight after Aone had finished talking, my phone lit up once again, "Ohhh, okay. I get you. Just be safe, kiddo. ;)" Slamming my phone back onto the coffee table immediately, I internally screamed. He'd taken it entirely the wrong way. But, of course he did - he was my dad - flourishing the final line of his text with a damn winking face. I really hoped that Aone didn't see that message.

After leaving a certain amount of time to pass, I finally picked up my phone again, "Dad, no. It's nothing like that - just see you tomorrow."

\---

I must have fallen asleep next to Aone's sofa, as the next time I checked the time - it read close to 1AM. Sleeping on the floor wasn't exactly comfortable, so I shifted over to a smaller sofa on the adjacent side of the room. That wasn't too comfortable either - but special people come before your own comfort. 

\--- 

The next time I woke, light had already began to flood into the room through the sheer curtains - illuminating Aone and Shiro's figures - both still curled up together - both still equally adorable. Seeing them together almost made my heart skip a beat or two. Aone seemed so peaceful when he slept, a stark difference to the last state he had been in - his face was almost picture perfect - you could even call it delicate.

As more and more light shone into the room, both sleeping figures began to stir. Shiro first, beckoning that he wanted to go outside. When opening the door leading to the outside, the sun encompassed my skin - the subdued heat making everything around me glow. The small, furry creature began bounding around the garden - completely unaware of his looming fate.

Sensing something coming up behind me, I was almost startled - breaking me from the Sun's bliss. And of course, it was Aone - rubbing his tired eyes, yawning from his presumed fatigue. "You feeling any better?" I asked, sighing through the sentence. 

All he said in response was a simple, "Mhm." Obviously not feeling the need for elaborate conversation.

Making me jump once again - Aone's arms snaked around me, gently rocking me as he did so, "Thank you for yesterday, it means a lot." It felt strange that his emotions were now all in check - but it was perfectly assuring that he hadn't lost himself just yet. 

Being wrapped in his arms was rather comforting to me, or really - it felt perfect. I felt perfectly safe, as if just his arms were protecting me from the rest of the world - I wanted to stay there forever. And as I said my response, he rested his chin on the top of my head, "Don't mention it, you just needed someone to be with you."

Upon hearing that, his arms tightened around me - as if he didn't want me to leave either.

But of course, nothing is infinite - so it had to come to a close soon, perhaps too soon. My phone began vibrating relentlessly from the coffee table. I made a quick scuffle over to it - expecting a call from my dad - but instead I received a slew of furious messages and missed calls from my mother - commanding me to answer her. Filled with apprehension, I pressed the button that allowed me to accept her call, I was not looking forward to her stern tone at all...

"(Y/N), this is completely unacceptable. How dare you leave our house without my permission - you didn't even tell me where you were going. Come home this instant." And with that, she hung up, without leaving me a single second to explain myself. Judging from the volume of my mother's voice - Aone already knew what was going on. In a flash, I had acquired my shoes and jacket upon me, and just as I was about to leave - Aone appeared behind me again - wrapping me in a vice like hug, resting his chin upon my head again. I was right, he didn't want me to leave.

"Thank you, (Y/N)." He whispered into the top of my head.

"You're welcome, Takanobu." I whispered back into his chest. And after savouring that hug for the longest time we could, I departed from his house - ushering myself away whilst waving to a beaming Aone and an ecstatic Shiro at their front door. That was really a night to remember.

\---

Throughout the entire walk home, my mind sat in a comfortable silence - only stopping to admire the scenery around me. However, as I stepped up to my front door - one thought popped into my head, "Why weren't Aone's parents at his house?"

\---

(A/N) Sorry that there's been a huge wait between this and the last chapter - I'm trying my best - but I'm trying to get through this story as quickly as possible - which may mean a certain event comes up in the story in three days time...


	13. Chapter 13

I tried to brace myself for my mother's inherent rage as soon as the door parted from its frame - almost shivering with fear, I shuffled back into my own house - which was something the average person wasn't afraid of. I was close to cowering away.

But, of course - she wasn't there - she'd probably left for work without giving me a second thought, as usual. Normally, a child's closest bond is with their mother, but not me. I couldn't fully remember a time where she had actually been there for me. It was almost as if my dad was a single parent - single-handedly raising me where she took every opportunity to leave the house; alienating herself from myself and Dad.

However, just as he always was - Dad was sat at the dining table, ready with a humble breakfast - but the gesture of it making it seem like a decadent banquet. A bright, warm smile plastered itself upon his face when he saw me, like a dog seeing their owner for the first time in the while. "Hey, kiddo," he beamed, "how was last night?"

Taking the seat next to him at the table, I turned to him, ready to converse and partially unwind with him. "It was... Complicated to say the least. But I think that I helped someone yesterday." I stretched my arms out, looking up to the ceiling, releasing a large sigh as I did so.

"Oooh, do tell me more..." He jested, jiggling his eyebrows playfully.

"Well," I hesitated for a while, "you've probably guessed where I was, so I'll just say it straight. Aone came here yesterday and told me that his dog was sick. Then, I went to the vet's with him and they said that his dog had around a week to live. And... I feel absolutely terrible for him: he thinks that it's all his fault. I'm just so worried about him." I looked down at my lap, tears pricking my eyes.

"Come here, kiddo." Dad suspired, holding his arms out for a hug. I almost fell into him, letting my tears fall. "(Y/N), don't cry, you've been a great friend, a truly amazing friend. I'm really proud of you, kiddo." Clinging onto him tighter, I started sobbing much harder - to the point that I could hardly form sentences. "You should eat something, okay? Then, you can go to bed and lay there all day. You deserve some rest." Feebly, I nodded, unlatched myself from our hug, wiped my eyes and began to eat. I hadn't eaten since dinner the day before. And as always, Dad's cooking was immaculate.

\---

After having my fill, I slowly slumped up the stairs. In the adjacent few minutes I'd changed into my pyjamas before flopping straight onto my bed, burying myself in the covers. Drifting off to sleep in a matter of minutes. The sleep was dreamless yet peaceful, and also rather refreshing. 

Arising as I heard a knock on my door, I rubbed my eyes - yawning as I did so. "Yeah?" I asked lethargically.

"Hey, kiddo. Can I come in?" Dad poked his head through the crack in the doorway, his face entertaining a warm yet goofy smile on his face.

"Mhm..." I hummed, sitting myself upright.

He sauntered into my room, plopping himself on the foot of my bed, "Are you feeling any better?" he inquired, letting his eyes wander around the posters and paintings on my walls.

"Just about," I replied, "I probably just needed some sleep." I too, let my eyes wander around my room, until they fell upon a photo frame of my parents and I - looking happy - a rare sight to see now. Dad seemed to notice me staring dejectedly at the picture, he piped up...

"About earlier..." rubbing his chin, he began to hesitate, "About your mum... I'm sorry that she left before you could even greet her."

"It doesn't matter," I acquiesced, "I'm used to it all by now."

"Oh kiddo, she's your mother, she should at least hold some conversation with you, let alone acknowledge your presence."

"I guess all families are different..." Flopping back onto my mattress - sighing.

"Maybe you should try and organise a little get together with her, once she gets out of work." He suggested, taking notice to my apparent apathy towards that conversation.

"But she's never not at work, though. She probably wouldn't even agree to it." Feeling alienated from my own mother, I sighed once again.

"Well... I'll see what I can do." He chirped, a mischievous grin rising on his cheeks, he had always had a certain penchant for scheming. Jumping up from my bed, he headed out of my room. But I didn't move until the pitter-patter of his feet on the stairs came to a halt.

I didn't care to move - only in a mood to lay on my bed, bundling myself in the covers again. 

\---

I awoke again in the late afternoon, having seemingly fallen asleep yet again. But that time, I made the gut-wrenching decision to leave my room - for the downstairs.

Not bothering to change from my pyjamas, I slumped down the stairs and plonked my body straight onto the sofa, flicking on the television without caring to flick through the channels. Dinner went by as usual, just myself and Dad, sticking to the status quo. So did the night, sleeping a dreamless slumber, until it was time for school on Monday morning. Two days until the fated Tokyo trip.

I wasn't exactly excited for school that day, and surprisingly, neither was I excited for my overnight stay in the capital. As I trundled down to the station with my feet close to dragging behind me, a looming grey was cast over the sky - thrusting the atmosphere into a dreary aura of despondentness.

Drab air hung low, stagnant - the clouds threatened to release their lamentation - hurling it upon the earth. I walked as fast as I possibly could towards the station, holding a certain desire to shelter myself from the heavy weather before me. Once under the station shelter, the skies opened, pouring their woes onto the world before me, emptying their sorrows into the atmosphere.

Little before the scheduled time for the train's arrival - it came, chugging along the tracks steadily yet rapidly - coming to a stop right before my feet. Unusual for a Monday morning - the train had little to no passengers - as if our little town had morphed into one for ghosts. But to no surprise of mine, Aone sat in his usual seat - gazing out of the foggy window - casting a void glance to the pavement outside. His eyes were hollow, accompanied by hefty bags underneath them. Pallor more gaunt than normal, offering a truly despondent image to whoever let their gaze fall upon to that poor wreck.

He barely smiled as I seated myself beside him.

There was nothing.

He was truly empty.

Needing to distract him, I brought up a topic for conversation - it wasn't exactly light, though, "Did something happen?" I questioned, my voice close to breaking. However, he didn't respond - he simply shook his head, refusing to make eye contact with me. Burying his head further into his shoulders. I sighed, "Hey, I'm here now, you can tell me whatever is on your mind," Pausing, I gazed at the floor, "You do know that don't you?" Once again, rather than responding - he hummed in affirmation.

That boy was a wreck, I needed him to talk to me - I needed to let him breathe freely for once, "Please, talk to me, Takanobu. Please just tell me how're you're doing" He simply sunk his head further down, as if he wished to dematerialise on the spot.

In between the cloth of his collar, he hummed a simple response, "Not good." He softly yet bluntly spoke. However, he finally turned towards me - his eyes beginning to prick with the spirits of tears - nothing fell down his cheeks. Offering me a 'grin' that was really a pained grimace. Succeeding that action, he swiftly brought my hand inside of his - endeavouring to find himself the smallest amount of comfort that he could muster.

Suddenly, I froze - my body perplexed by his abrupt action. I wasn't flustered - I was simply shocked.

Taking myself out of that reverie, I began another conversation, squeezing his palm lightly, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I left you yesterday. I shouldn't have done that - just look at you now - this could have all been avoided." Beginning to ramble and panic - my heart rate rose. Takanobu seemed to take notice of that and gave my digits a warm squeeze in return, before completely letting it go, letting the drab, coarse air run along my skin.

"No..." He averred, almost breathlessly, "Don't say that."

Subsequently, I too, hummed in affirmation, giving only the word 'Okay' as a reciprocation. But further after that, following several moments of comfortable silence, I enounced, "Don't be afraid of asking me for help, Takanobu. You know I'll always be there for you." Saying that was usually a promise which I never made, simply in trepidation of being unable to follow through with it. What if one day I wasn't present - and someone really needed me?

Just like every other time, he stayed silent - a comfortable silence - telling me that he had comprehended my assurances. 

For the rest of the journey, we remained marinating in the serene silence, not feeling a need for a soliloquy or verse. And during that time - Takanobu's eyes became warmer and fuller with life's essence than they were when I had first laid eyes on him that day. Even the leaden bags under his eyes had considerably lessened in their protuberance. 

Something about what I had avowed during those short and sweet moments of conversation seemed to have lit a miniscule spark in his soul, reminding him of the tiny rays of light that still shone upon this world. Maybe there was hope for that wreck of a human.

All remained in that sense until we entered the gates to the school, only to be bombarded by the all too familiar presence of Futakuchi sauntering towards me. Before either of us could greet him, he spoke up, "Sorry to bother the both of you, but may I steal their royal highness for a moment or two?" Bearing his infamous smirk, turning me away from Takanobu before I could object or comply. Leading me a mediocre distance away, before stopping completely, "Sooooo..." He began, "I heard about what you did at the weekend and I just want to tell you about my absolute gratitude about that. Your majesty, you truly treat your royal subjects stupendously." Turning me back around swiftly, he offered me no chance to reply - as if he had planned the entire conversation word for word. I began strolling back towards Takanobu, ready to start the day as soon as possible. "Now then, get back to your royal duties, your majesty." He really was idiosyncratic.

Every scheduled situation went by as passably as it should have been, each lesson bearing no differences or defining qualities compared to any other. Hiroko and Rea were as distinct as always, each of them the Ying to the other's Yang. An excitable puppy with a rather aloof feline. Even the weather beheld nothing remarkable.

The train ride and walk home also held no similarities, but not until a request materialised inside my mind, and unlike me - I released it unto the outside world immediately. "Hey, Takanobu - would you mind if I gave Shiro a visit?"

As usual he gave no demur, simply nodding in ratification - letting me follow him towards his home, towards his best friend whom had been fated to leave everyone earlier than he should have. 

Once the door stood ajar, a four-legged creature bounded towards us - his face scrunching up in pure delight, unaware of his dwindling clock. In an instant, Takanobu's face lit up considerably, the bags under his eyes completely disappearing - as if a miracle had arisen right in front of his eyes. Shiro howled, also enamoured with the sight of being reunited with his best friend. However, beside Shiro stood another figure, a woman - tall and plump - streaks of white running along her raven hair. Even though she had the traces of age running along her face, a youthful glow still exuded from her. Her mouth trailed from side to side in a permanent smile. Upon seeing me, her smile seemed to grow even wider. "Ah, hello. It's very nice to meet you, I'm Ejiri Aone, Takanobu's Aunt. My, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, my dear?" The effervescent woman beamed - striking her arms out for a hug, and without a warning - she scooped me up into the warmest hug I had felt for the longest of times.

"It's nice to meet you too, I'm (Y/N) (L/N) - you could call me a friend of Takanobu's." I giggled, demurely - as it took her several eons for her to release me from her vice.

"Nonsense!" Chuckling vigorously, she motioned for us to step inside, "Anyone that my Takanobu can trust is instantly a member of our family! So, would you like anything to drink, my dear?" Honestly, it surprised me that someone so outwardly convivial could be so closely related to Takanobu - someone whose insides were bound by his exterior. So much so, that he had somewhat lost jurisdiction over many aspects of his life.

"Just water if I may." I replied - heading over to the sofa where Shiro sat, wagging his tail in diluted ecstasy. His fur appeared to be more scarce than it was when I had last laid eyes on him - even if that was less than forty-eight hours before. That simply delineated how quickly he was falling in a downwards spiral. Not a single thing could stop him from doing so.

In less that a minute, Ejiri had brought me a glass of water, sitting down nest to me after she did so. "(Y/N), would you care to tell me about yourself?" She questioned, a genuine smile of reassurance stretched across her cheeks.

Taken aback, I answered, "Well... I used to live in a little town in Northern Hokkaido until recently. At first, Miyagi seemed strange and alien to me, but it's a welcoming place now. I cant that that my life's interesting - I'm an only child and live with my Mother and Father. I'm the manager for the school's volleyball team, and other than that - there's nothing much to me." Expressing that was made me truly uncomfortable - talking about myself always seemed rather bizarre to me - especially to someone with whom I had recently met. However, there was something about Ejiri's aura that made her exude a sense of welcoming and enticement - calming those who were gifted with her presence.

Beaming back at me, her eyes softened, glazing over with a sheen of humanity and compassion, "You know, (Y/N) - I only moved back to Miyagi recently after spending just over thirty years abroad in Denmark - Ærøskøbing specifically. During that time - I've fostered close to fifteen children; each from a different side of the world. I wanted nothing more than to benefit them entirely - each one of them deserved the world. But, after moving back to Japan, I had to put that entire life behind me, for the sake of my family. And now, I am almost always at the hospital, working. It's not often that I can spend time with Takanobu, so it's consoling to know that there's someone there for him. You're a good kid, my dear." Her words took me by shock - how she had laid her life's discrepancies bare to me - even within an hour of meeting me. It was like she knew exactly what to say.

While I sat, playing with Shiro - Ejiri and I carried on conversation - simply chatting about whatever subject she could dream up, and it made me realise - how much I craved a loving mother figure. Ejiri worked tirelessly to provide for her nephew, still managing to scrape enough free time to spend time with him. Whereas, my mother worked relentlessly - never letting herself rest - but even when nothing occupied her - it seemed that she would go out of her way to avoid even looking at me. It hurt, terribly.

As soon as I knew it, nearly two hours had passed and I bid the three farewell. Meeting Ejiri certainly wasn't expected, however I couldn't complain about that escapade - in that little amount of time, her influence had cast an almost enlightening shadow over my life, as her welcomed me into hers completely. Takanobu was truly fortunate to have an Aunt like her, perhaps too fortunate...


	14. Chapter 14

Rising on the cool Tuesday morning, I couldn't curtail a sense of joyous anticipation, as that very day I would leave for our practice match in Tokyo. However, as I scanned over the contents of my overnight bag - a tiny sliver of timorousness crept inside my mind: I simply couldn't help thinking of the worst. What if Shiro would leave us while we were away? Relentlessly, I tried to shrink those thoughts to the back of my head - but only to a slight avail, as that thought lingered, latched onto my fibres of being.

Capering down the stairs, I was greeted by the warm smile of my pyjama-clad father. Obviously, he had only recently arisen from the depths of slumber - his hair ruffled by the happenings of the night - his glasses laying skewed upon the bridge of his nose. "Hey, kiddo!" He spoke joyously, holding his arms out wide, "How are we feeling today?"

A humble meal stood on the table in front of me, a simple breakfast - nothing more. "Morning, Dad. I think I'm okay, a bit nervous at that"

"Don't be nervous! You get to spend a whole night in Tokyo of all places!" He hesitated, taking in my anxious aura, "I'm sure everything will go along just beautifully, be hopeful, kiddo." Smiling goofily, he bounded towards me - wrapping my body in an over-zealous bear hug - almost throttling me.

Sighing, I replied, "I'll try, thanks Dad"

We ate breakfast, chatting nonchalantly until I had no choice but to depart. Bidding me a heartfelt goodbye, hugging me until I was close to imploding. As I walked away, my luggage on tow - he waved and hollered feverishly, a stream of 'Goodbyes' and "I love yous' cascading from between his lips. I laughed at his antics, equalling his words but in a less incandescent manner. Even if the trip would only span one night, I'd still miss him nonetheless.

Upon arriving at the train station, little time passed before my train cruised along the tracks before me - and per usual - Takanobu was situated in his usual seat, seeming much more tranquil compared to the prior day. No longer was his face as troubled, yet it still harnessed an essence of anxiousness - but for an understandable reason. Neither of us felt the need to greet each other - simply acknowledging the other's presence as we always did. However, as we departed the carriage in tandem - a certain somebody laid his grievances bare, "(Y/N), do you think Shiro will be okay?"

"I hope he will be, but I can't really say much more."

"Can you be sure?" With saying that, his voice broke slightly - only highlighting his demeanour of worry.

Sighing, I paused, unsure of how to answer what he had asked, "Truthfully, we can't be sure. We have to hope for the best - nothing more, nothing less." Hopeless words, they were - but I couldn't offer him anything more.

"Okay..." He let out a shaky, breathless laugh, "I'll try. Thanks, (Y/N)."

"Don't mention it, it's not something worthy of thanks." And with that, he didn't care to speak afterwards - letting both of us fall into a revelling pit of gaucheness. Even during classes and breaks, that silence carried on until the coach journey to Tokyo as school ended. Somehow, even Futakuchi managed to not break a word.

The drive was to take a gruelling four hours of doing hardly anything. Occasionally, I would give directions to Coach Oiwake, the rest of my time being occupied by a book, as always. That was, until I felt a sudden jolt ricochet through the back of my seat - which of course, was gifted graciously by the grimace sat behind me. "Your Majestyyyyy, how long until we get thereeee?"` Futakuchi whined like a little kid, pursing out his bottom lip - mimicking a needy baby.

Behind me, sat Futakuchi and Takanobu - the prior jesting his usual jests and the latter; gazing out of the window, his eyes travelling along the road - occasionally latching onto a building or animal in the background. "Just under two and a half hours. That's if there aren't any mishaps."

"Well that sucks, I guess I'll just take a nap, then." He declared, reclining in his seat - letting his legs fall underneath my chair. Immediately, he kicked his head backwards, clamping his eyes shut, "So don't be too rowdy, you two." Falling silent after his sarcastic articulation. Feeling no apparent need to reply to him, I buried my senses back into my book, wishing for the ride to terminate.

Hardly any time had passed before the faint sounds of Futakuchi snoring rang out through the faint buzz of the team's chatter. However, little after that - a scheming Kamasaki crept up behind his chair - his eyes twinkling with devilish delight. The Machiavellian jumped from where he stood, severely startling the slumbering teen. That was when the environment gained an intense ambiance of chaos. Futakuchi screaming a slew of obscenities at his attacker, the latter defending himself relentlessly, explaining how the whole ordeal was simply a bit of friendly banter. Every other member of the team - in some way - was trying to make the conflict die down. However, with one single glance from Takanobu - Futakuchi immediately curtailed his fighting spirit - becoming a dog with its tail tucked between its legs.

"Now... Everyone leave me alone. Please and thank you" He declared curtly, a scorn scowl taking residence upon his face.

Not a single objection was made to that statement, everyone staying silent in trepidation of catalysing another ruckus. The situation pretty much stayed like that for the rest of the drive there - except from the odd 'Shut up' coming from Futakuchi's mouth. Yet, it was still far from peaceful - the constant murmur of voices in the background, distracting me from my novel.

As we arrived at our accommodation for the night, I could sense the team's excitement rising - even if the practice match was early in the next morning. Even the grimace's cocky exterior had shifted and let a ray of giddiness outwards. A rare sight to say the least.

Most of the team rushed into the inn, not paying attention to their rowdiness that was highly apparent to every person passing by. Their escapades were swiftly ushered away by a sighing Moniwa, commanding them to calm their turbulence.

The scene surrounding me was purely picturesque, it certainly wasn't something that you would expect from being in a mostly modern region of Tokyo. A serene, little river trickled down the side of the narrow road - endowed with numerous water lilies of various hues of white and pink. The water flowing through it was rather dark, yet somehow comforting - as you couldn't see just how deep you were falling in. Standing sturdily over the stream, was a bridge - made of many differing stones - each one a different shape, colour and consistency to the next. Adorning the river's surroundings - were flora and foliage - offering a natural touch to its metropolitan environment. I could have sat, gazing at that sight for hours on end; something about it felt weirdly nostalgic and comforting - as if it held some sort of importance to me.

However, that could never be the case, as I followed the rest of the team into our rooms. Being the manager, I had the privilege of having a room to myself, as sharing a room with any member of the team would have surely been catastrophic. 

At that time, the mid-evening sky had begun to grow a relaxing shade of scarlet - wispy clouds floating through it. There was no apparent need for food, seeing as though everyone had eaten on the drive there - so I laid on my futon, a book in hand. Dappled light shone through the window panes - casting light in peculiar patterns across the floor. Shadows swam across the walls, twirling along with the wind. Perhaps Tokyo wasn't going to be that bad after all...

A sudden knock on the door echoed through the room, "Come in." I said reflexively. The hinges creaked shrilly, as the unknown figure made its way passed the doorway. My instincts told me that Takanobu would be standing there - but alas, it was the fawn-haired Futakuchi, wearing a padded, navy jacket and a grey scarf draped around his neck.

"So, (Y/N). Aone and I were wondering if you'd like to go on a little stroll with us? And, don't worry - Coach Oiwake already said we were okay to do so." Futakuchi asked, seemingly out of his little tantrum from earlier.

Taken aback, I stood up from my futon, smoothing down my clothes, "Oh... Uh, Sure - I guess." Hurling on my coat and shoes as I exited the room. It seemed strange that Futakuchi was asking me to do such a thing - especially since he called me by my name, instead of some stupid nickname - after all, he had never expressed interest in socialising normally with me.

Briefly, I made eye contact with Takanobu, only for him to avert his gaze instantly - a nervous disposition on his face, as he looked down to the floor - his hands fiddling with something inside his pockets.

Sensing the awkward air, Futakuchi attempted to start a conversation, "Where do you guys want to go? I was thinking of following that river to see where it goes, is that fine with you two?"

Neither of us offered any opposition to his suggestion, Takanobu only nodded - while I hummed a little sound of affirmation. I didn't have anything better to do. It didn't take long before Futakuchi started talking about the most random things - trying not to be awkward himself, "Sooooooo, (Y/N), how different is Miyagi to Hokkaido?"

"Well, the different dialects were strange at first. But it is nice not seeing snow all the time, life near the Kitami mountains wasn't exactly... Perfect."

Awkwardly laughing, Futakuchi carried on with the small talk, as if he was trying to stall, "I guess so. Why did you move here though?"

"My mother had a promotion, and that meant that we had to move here." I replied, nonchalantly - perplexed by his sudden 'interest' in my life. And for the next half hour or so, he kept asking questions - some generic and some bizarre. It was slightly obvious that he didn't really care about my answers but instead, only used them as a method of delaying something. As that happened, Takanobu sauntered beside us - never uttering a word, but still fiddling with whatever object he was hiding inside of his pockets.

Abruptly, Futakuchi stopped dead in his tracks - as we had somehow arrived back at the bridge from before. The evening sky illuminated the water perfectly - as the waning sunlight hit each droplet of the river, it reflected back into my eyes. It almost sparkled. Each lily bobbed up and down in a majestic rhythm, acting as the river's heartbeat.

"Now, you two - I'll be heading back - so don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." The fawn-haired teen acquiesced, his usual aura becoming rather apparent. Smirking back to Takanobu and I while strolling back into the inn. 

As soon as Futakuchi disappeared behind the inn's doors, I felt a timid tap at my shoulder. Turning around, I was met with an equally timid Takanobu. He drew his hand out from his pocket, holding a flower - specifically a hydrangea. A flower that was used to show someone's gratitude for being understood by another. The flower's complexity would mirror that of the person giving it - and how the recipient learned to accept and understand that complexity, and maybe love them for it.

Immediately, Takanobu's face flushed over with a crimson wash - seemingly embarrassed by the gesture. But, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that he took the time to research into my interests, and use that knowledge to express the way he was feeling. To put it simply, I found it cute - adorable actually - the way that the man with the stoic and intimidating aura would appear so vulnerable in front of me. The inside of me was screaming with joy, that I tried my best to contain.

I held my right hand out to him, to indicate that I accepted his gesture - and as I took the flower from his, our hands brushed - only for an instant. His skin felt warm and clammy - as if his nervousness was running through his entire body.

Through a bright smile, I began to speak, "Thank you, Takanobu. I'm happy that you can feel that way with me." A single tear of joy began to prick at my eye. Taking notice of that, Takanobu's arms scooped me into a comforting hug - without a single word.

Never before had I felt so unapologetically cheery. He was the first person to make me feel that way...


	15. Chapter 15

"Seriously, Takanobu, I don't think I could thank you enough for this, even if it just a flower." I spoke, my voice almost cracking from my tears. That happiness puzzled me, genuinely - and strangely, I greatly accepted it. 

While making direct, honest eye contact with Takanobu - he began to fluster, a highly pigmented blush overcoming his usual delicately ghostly pallor. His mouth opened as if he was trying to say something, but after nothing was mustered - he closed it again. Several times this happened, what he wanted to say was on the top of his tongue, but wouldn't leave.

"Are you alright?" I inquired, taken aback by his disconcertion.

"I... Uh, yeah," Takanobu stumbled, "(Y/N), can I, uh say something?"

"Of course."

He took a deep breath, "So... Ummm, I just want t-to say that... No one h-has e-e-ever been this kind t-to me, so t-thank you." He stuttered relentlessly, but his message got across to me nonetheless.

I broke from our embrace, but Takanobu wasn't smiling, nor crying. Instead his expression seemed serene, almost at peace with himself - his eyes shimmered with the waning sunlight - the last of its rays illuminating them. Wiping my eyes, a breathy laugh echoed from my mouth. "No..." I took a deep breath, "Thank you."

Before long, the air became silent again, silent yet tranquil. "So... Do you want to go back inside?" I proposed, and in a return - I was met with a swift nod from Takanobu - his eyes still sparkling.

A warm gust of wind wrapped around my hand as we entered the inn, as if something had brushed passed it, only to be greeted by the conniving smirk of Futakuchi, "Have fun did we, you two?" It was painfully obvious that he knew everything that had just happened, even if he hadn't noticed the single hydrangea flower in my right hand.

"I did, actually. Thanks for asking." I responded in a sarcastically peppy tone. Waving goodbye to the two of them as I departed for my room, my eyelids beginning to droop from exhaustion. But, before I dropped to sleep, I pressed the single hydrangea flower in between two pages of the book I had brought with me, to preserve it. However, as I lay back down on the futon, I couldn't drift off to slumber - no matter how tired I was.

Tossing and turning for what felt like eternity, I grew to be exasperated, sick of the fact that I couldn't sleep. 

My mind was going into overdrive - previous thoughts and experiences swimming around in my head - specifically what had happened earlier that day. That scene played over and over in my head, I couldn't think of anything else - it was on a constant loop.

After what felt like hours, there was a knock on my door, faint, muffled, almost too quiet to hear. I strained my eyes trying to see what time the clock read. It was midnight. As confused as I was, I stumbled up to the door, almost tripping over something as I did so. When I opened the door, first, I struggled to see who stood at the other side of it. But after my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I could faintly recognise the figure of Takanobu, shivering as he breathed shakily.

"Are you okay?" I asked, whispering - genuinely concerned as to why he was standing there before me at such a preposterous time.

He didn't reply. He took an unsteady breath and shook his head - his head sinking nearly below his shoulders.

"Well... Do you want to talk about it?" I queried, beckoning for him to follow me. 

As I sat back down onto my futon - leaning against the wall - I patted the space next to me for Takanobu to sit there, and he did.

Vaguely, I could sense why he seemed so worried, and I could strongly relate to that, as that trepidation had been in the back of my mind ever since that day at the vet's. "It's Shiro, isn't it?" I whispered, careful not to draw any attention to us.

He hummed in affirmation, holding his head in his hands, one single tear trailing down his cheek.

I didn't know what to say to him. How could I have comforted him in a situation like that one? So, I attempted to calm myself, and tried to offer the best reassurance I could, "So... I know that you and Shiro both love each other loads and I also know that he wouldn't want you to be worried about him, he'd want you to have fun and enjoy your time here."

"But, but what if I don't get to say goodbye?" He mumbled, gazing down at the floor.

"Well..." I hesitated, "Even if you can't say goodbye to him, I'm sure he'll still be with you no matter where you are. But, in the end, all we can do is be optimistic."

"I guess so." Takanobu hiccupped, raising his left hand to wipe his weeping eyes. His whole body softly shaking while he sobbed.

Several minutes passed before either of us spoke again, until I did, in the spur of the moment. "Come here, Takanobu, you need a hug." I whispered, trying to lace the utmost sympathy into my words. Almost immediately, his body collapsed towards me - nearly knocking me over with his imposing frame. But, I did manage, somehow, to brace for its impact - resulting in his head resting flush against my collarbone - the moisture from his tears clinging onto my shirt.

Gently, I placed my hand upon his back, lightly caressing it up and down in a comforting rhythm - holding him in place as he wept into the crook my neck. Neither of us spoke for what seemed like hours, and we didn't need to. We never did.

I must have fallen asleep in that very same position, as later, I awoke, with Takanobu's slumbering form laid against me- having not moved at all from before. No longer was he melancholy, instead he was dozing, dreaming of a world away from reality.

Once again, I strained my eyes, trying to adjust my eyes to the lack of light. When they did - I could barely recognise the time upon the clock, reading 4:17. And so, not wanting our situation to appear as conspicuous to the team, I began shaking Takanobu's shoulders to wake him up. It didn't take long for him to start to stir. Once his eyes were opened, the moonlight hit them perfectly, illuminating them in a picturesque shade of repose, but behind them - was a burning veil of distress and hurt.

As he woke fully, he quickly came into realisation about where he was - swiftly jumping from where he was and began sneaking towards the door, taking caution where he stepped - he couldn't see, after all. But as he departed from my room, I could faintly see the outline of a smile upon his face. Smiling back at him, I waved goodbye to him while he tried to close the door without making the smallest hint of noise.

Directly after he left, I noticed the faint palpitation of my heart inside my chest. And since that feeling wouldn't let me fall back into the depths of slumber any time soon, I decided to lay onto my back, staring at the empty ceiling - wondering why the thrumming of my heart wouldn't calm down.

After my alarm rang, approximately two hours later - I stumbled out of my futon, grabbing my toiletries before I headed for the bathroom. Inside there, the air was peaceful, flowing along with the early morning atmosphere. 

While in the bathroom, I took a warm shower, relaxing as the droplets hit my skin - figuratively washing away my worries as the soapy suds trailed down the drain, refreshing my mind for the rousing day ahead of me. The shower didn't last long, and while drying myself off, I absentmindedly began to hum - feeling happy, a rare occurrence in the early morning.

When I was ready for the day, wearing Date Tech's manager's uniform with my hair bouncing along with my stride as I walked, I stepped out from behind the bathroom door, only to be dragged away by my forearm by Futakuchi.

"So, your highness... A little bird - our lovely little Kousuke to be exact - told me that he heard our good friend Mr. Aone creep back into our room at an ungodly time this morning? Would you happen to know anything about that, I wonder?" He smirked, looking down at me, his eyes twinkling with devilish delight.

"Perhaps." I replied, deadpan, "But, please, get your mind out of the gutter." I shook my arm, trying to release myself from his grip, "Now, please let me go." I said, smiling wryly.

He raised his hands in surrender, letting his grip on me release, "Don't let me stop you." He said cockily, offering me a false sense of defeat.

In succession to that small encounter, I headed down to breakfast with the team. Jolly spirits were held high as a strong sense of moral echoed throughout the atmosphere - many members of the team unable to hinder their excitement - particularly the first years. One of which - the libero, Sakunami, sending suspecting glances to both me and Takanobu as we ate. Trying to pay him no mind, I gazed down at my food, feeling more than a little paranoid.

While on the coach, riding to Fukurodani Academy, I couldn't help but feel a great amount of anticipation towards the upcoming event. However, it didn't have much time to rise as we arrived at the prestigious academy in a rather short amount of time.

The building was huge, decadent and sumptuous, with the school's banners and flags billowing in the wind, displaying all its glory for all to see. From what I could see, the campus was absolutely ginormous, with the highest building seeming to be at least five storeys high. It was almost unreal.

As we departed from the coach, the coach from Fukurodani's team greeted us, offering to show us the way towards the sports hall where our match would be held. We definitely would have gotten lost without his help.

After making several turns and walking for several minutes, we had finally arrived at the gym used for volleyball - where the other team was practicing their spikes and receives. With one team member doing so with a large amount of gusto, a broad beam plastered upon his face. Perhaps, he was the ace that Fukurodani's manager had warned me about.

But before anything else happened, that same person came bounding towards us like an over zealous dog, skidding as he stopped, waving his hands out to us excitedly, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" He called out, bounding up and down, exhilarated. "I'm Bokuto Koutarou! You guys look really cool!" Pausing, he turned to me, "Wow, your hair is so wicked, can I touch it?"

Taken aback, but not wanting to be rude, I answered, "Uhh, sure." Sounding more like I was asking the question myself.

Without any hesitation the guy with the frosted tips, who I now knew as Bokuto, pinched the end of one of my curls, gently pulling it down and then letting it back spring back into place. His eyes sparkled, astounded, "Awhhh, that's amazing! I wish my hair was like that! He beamed, his words pure and filled with sheer wonder at something as trivial as someone's hair.

"Thanks..." I replied sheepishly, avoiding eye contact with him.

However, there was someone who didn't seem exactly happy to witness that encounter between Bokuto and I, that was Takanobu, who now held a stern glare upon his face, and strangely his arm pointed out - directed straight at Bokuto's face - completely singling him out from the rest. And in an instant, Futakuchi was there, trying relentlessly to force Takanobu's arm downward, but all to no avail. That was, until I simply put my hand on top of his arm, which caused him to lower it almost immediately. But why he did that perplexed me, as I had never seen him do such a thing before.

Moniwa seemed to take notice of my confusion, "Don't worry, (L/N). It's just how Aone finds our opposing team's ace. He does it all the time." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, seemingly feeling a tad nervous.

But, hardly thirty seconds had passed before everyone started to let the game go underway, with everything needed having been previously set up by Fukurodani's pair of managers. Who, at that point I was sat with, counting the scores. I hadn't bothered to make lengthy conversation with them, we simply introduced ourselves to each other, until, the one I knew as Yukie, sparked up a discussion, "Hey, I think that number seven over there is looking your way."

I jolted, unsuspectedly - but, then giggled bashfully, "I... Uh... He's probably looking at the scoreboard." I replied, hesitantly, while simultaneously choking on my words, feeling seriously awkward. Pausing for a second, I thought of how I could change the subject, letting my eyes scan around the gym for something to talk about. Whilst doing that, they landed on Takanobu - who couldn't have made the situation any more uneasy by looking at me straight in my eyes. Feeling my face's temperature rise, I averted my gaze, for it to fall upon Fukurodani's number seven, who was unabashedly staring right at Yukie. Which I immediately picked up on. "Say, Yukie - isn't your number seven staring at you?" She flushed red straight away.

"Well... Maybe..." She giggled excitedly. Proud that I had successfully changed the subject, I turned my attention back to the game, to where our team's reputation was holding up stupendously.

This fact had most definitely put Bokuto in a despondent mood, as it faltered and perked every minute or so, depending on whoever was leading the set.

During the third set, while the score was 21-17, with Fukurodani leading, Futakuchi had been rotated out of the match - and rather than sit with his teammates, he sauntered up to where I was sat, a slightly smug expression plastered upon his face. "You know, (Y/N), I've never seen Takanobu play like this before, he really is putting his all in today... I wonder why."

"Is that so?" I replied, cocking my eyebrow up at him.

"Why yes it is. And also, about last night - I know the reason..."

"How...?" I questioned, a wave of suspicion flowing over me.

Smirking back to me, he spoke, "Just my intuition." After that, he said something inaudible, right before he was rotated back into the game, perambulating away with a sneaky wave.

Everything else flowed by smoothly after that, until the fifth and final set - where each team had two sets a piece, with the score climbing close to the thirties. This drove each player's motivation higher, despite the fact that nearly everyone was exhausted.

The whole court fell silent as a deafening crack rang through the air, right as Takanobu had deflected perhaps the most powerful spike that I had ever seen. He winced, holding his finger with his other hand, clearly experiencing a bucket load of pain.

Almost instantly, I sprang to my feet, ready to escort Takanobu away from the court, picking up the first aid kit while on the way. 

The game didn't resume, nor did anyone speak a word - except all showing looks of sympathy for the injured player. Even the hyperactive Bokuto had calmed down drastically.

As we happened upon the corridor, away from the silent commotion of the gym, I instructed for Takanobu to sit on a bench, while I kneeled on the floor unzipping the first aid kit. First, I pressed the ice pack upon his rapidly swelling finger that was turning a haughty shade of purple. Takanobu sucked air from between his teach, blenching at the sudden cold temperature.

"Are you okay?" I asked, softly, gazing into his eyes, somehow burning with some sense of intensity that I couldn't define, "Is it bad?"

"It hurts." He winced, squeezing his eyes shut as he did so, his eyebrows furrowing in pain.

"Do you think you can still play?"

Feebly, he nodded - beginning to breathe quickly, I could almost hear his heartbeat.

Taking the bandages out of the kit, I began to gingerly wrap them around his fingers, being careful to not cause him any discomfort. Each time I wrapped it around, my hands grazed his, which made me feel strangely warm on the inside. Gazing up at him, I noticed that he was painted over with a bright red hue, but the logical side of me told me it was simply caused by his exhaustion and pain. However, there was something inside of me that told me it was something else.

"Alright then," I said, "Do your best."

While walking back to the gym, our hands kept brushing against each other, even though we weren't the same height.

He jogged back onto the court, where the game promptly resumed, and in no matter of time, the match had drew to a close, with us losing the set, and with that losing the match. Something told me that it could have gone slightly different if it wasn't for Takanobu's injury. But, he still did try his best, even if that meant overexerting himself.

At that point, the entire team was exhausted as we trundled back to the coach - waving goodbye to Fukurodani's team, with Bokuto bellowing his goodbyes, quite the fireball, he was.

I think that everyone else had fallen asleep within a quarter of an hour of setting off, except for me - even though I was feverishly fatigued. I couldn't sleep. All because the memories of the corridor and the inn flowing through my mind. I had a hunch that that feeling wouldn't leave me for quite some time...


	16. Chapter 16

It must have been approximately three hours before we arrived back at school, in the early noon, with almost everyone staying slumbering the entire time - their gentle - and not so gentle snores ringing through the air. While I saved the page I was reading, Coach Oiwake instructed me to wake the rest of the team up.

One by one, I went around the team, waking them - some much easier than others. That was, until I came to rouse Futakuchi, who had no desire to depart from his dreams, sleeping as still as a log. Several shakes of his shoulders later, he still hadn't arisen from his drowse, no matter how hard I shook. Until, Kamasaki, the idiosyncratic schemer with his water bottle in hand, unscrewing its lid, ready to ensue utter chaos. And with a squeeze of the container, the liquid had sprung itself into Futakuchi's face, its coldness stirring him immediately, but unlike the rest, he quickly entered an unbridled rage directed straight at the conniver, Kamasaki.

Subsequently, with a new burst of vigour - Futakuchi leapt from his seat, bounding after his attacker, spitting a slew of obscenities from between his lips. Waving his arms around in unadulterated fury, he relentlessly chased Kamasaki around the car park, screaming that he would get his revenge in due time - causing a whole bucket of catastrophe. Without wasting any time, Takanobu and Coach Oiwake swiftly bounded out from the coach, rearing to hinder the fight between the two feral children. 

It took nothing more than a slight interference from Takanobu, a stern glance - for the two opposing teens to immediately put a halt to their skirmish, sheepishly apologising to each other, even if that was only for show. 

With a defeated sigh, Coach Oiwake beckoned the rest of us out of the coach, gesturing for us to listen to what he had to say, "So, I know that you're all exhausted and you've all worked incredibly hard today - and there isn't much time left of the school day anyway, so it'd be pointless if you went back into lessons now. Therefore, I will be giving you all the permission to head home slightly earlier today. You're all dismissed, I'll see you tomorrow." Then, he bid us farewell, waving us away with an unenthusiastic gesture.

And with that, each one of us grabbed our bags and jackets, eagerly heading out of the school gates, but still being absolutely enervated. However, that meant that the usual train that Takanobu and I would catch wouldn't be coming for quite some time to come - so we would have to loiter around somewhere until that time came. 

After waving goodbye to the rest of the team, Takanobu and I began strolling slowly towards the train station, but since we had time to kill, we turned and passed down different streets, until we came across a dainty, sweet, little café - its outside adorned by trellises; bound by tresses of white wisteria. The entire aura of it was truly welcoming and mellow, practically ushering us inside its doors.

"Hey, Takanobu - do you want to get something to drink?" I asked him, feeling somehow uplifted from the scenery around me.

From the way he responded, I could feel the exhaustion exuding from him - his eyes drooping gracefully while he sedately nodded his head, apparently too tired to entertain a conversation.

As soon as I walked through the doors the delightful aroma of pastries and beautiful beverages floated towards me, swimming through the air. I took a deep breath, savouring the delicious fragrance, before I ordered drinks for both Takanobu and myself - but before I could get my wallet out to pay for what I was purchasing - beside me, Takanobu delved into his bag at the speed of light in an attempt to get to his wallet, too. I gave him a glance to cast my disapproval, firmly placing my own upon the counter to pay. "How about we call this a reward for playing super well?" I chuckled, tilting my head to the side.

Takanobu sighed, seemingly defeated, nodding before sinking into the collar of his jacket. It genuinely looked like he would fall to sleep at any given second.

In a small matter of minutes, our drinks were ready - but rather than stay inside, we both made the unconscious decision to sit on one of the tables outside. After all, the sun was shining radiantly, along with the wisteria adorned trellises compelled me there, as if its aura gave me a sense of belonging.

"(Y/N)?"

My eyes flicked away from my drink, landing upon his face, "Yes, what is it, Takanobu?"

He pointed to the abundances of wisteria around us, his eyes filled with adoration as he scanned the scene, "What do they mean?"

Giggling at him softly, I answered his question - but, before I did so - a warm pang palpitated inside me. Was it my stomach? My heart? I couldn't tell. "Like most things, wisteria can have more than one meaning. First, it can symbolise the longevity and figurative immortality of life, illustrious beauty and absolute infatuation." Suddenly I halted my explanation, hesitating when I spoke those last two words, for some reason unbeknownst to me.

'Absolute infatuation'

Sensing that I had zoned out, I quickly carried on with my diatribe, "But, every part of the wisteria is poisonous, toxic, deadly even. Especially since it is a rapidly growing plant. Now, I'm not completely sure about this, but I'm quite positive that that gives the wisteria its other meaning - warning profusely about how dangerous 'absolute infatuation' is - and how quickly it can grow, and eventually, take over everything you once were. After all, unfiltered, unbridled love... it's terrifying." I looked down at the floor, slightly embarrassed by the subject at hand. 

Faintly, I could hear a soft chuckle from Takanobu's side of the table. That was until, he said something, something so quiet that even I struggled to hear him. Two words that purely shook me to my core. It may have simply just been me overreacting, but alas - I believe it was called for.

"You're amazing."

In an instant, my eyes gaze shot straight up to meet his. My eyes widened and my mouth parted slightly, hanging agape in revelation. I wanted desperately to reply to him, but at the time, I was incapable of forming coherent dialogue. Wringing my hands together, I laughed awkwardly, trying desperately to form a reply.

After taking several shallow breaths of reassurance, I made my best attempt at speaking, despite my mind had gone into complete overdrive, "Thank you, Takanobu... You're rather amazing, too."

My heart thrummed at a pace so terrifyingly loud that I worried that everyone within a kilometre radius could hear it. I felt stupendously awkward after that, with my gaze darting from place to place, searching for something to distract my mind from the inner turmoil I was experiencing.

After shifting my line of sight many times, the only thing I was drawn to was Takanobu's face. It was like I was magnetised towards it. Unequivocally compelled towards him.

Our eyes met each other, and in that instant that they did, everything froze, everything fell silent, the world stopped turning. In those few seconds, no one existed but us.

And even though, every thought in my head told me to turn away - I was frozen too, our gazes seemed to be permanently latched to one another, neither one of us wanting to break away first. 

However, after a small eternity of making unrelenting eye contact, I was the first to break away, staring straight down at my beverage until I had finished every single last drop of it.

Neither of us spoke until we were walking back to the train station, following a road that I had never come across before. But, the complete opposite could be said for Takanobu - as he abruptly tensed up and stopped moving entirely when we passed one house in-particular. Its garden and exterior were completely barren, devoid of any wisp of joyousness - every inch of the walls covered in a dull, draining grey. There was no light or life exuding from the inside of the house at all. Its overall lack of spirit made it seem like someone had abandoned it, many eons ago.

Noticing how visually distressed Takanobu was, I finally broke the silence, "Hey, what's the matter?" I asked.

Before he replied, he swiftly moved further ahead until that house was out of his line of sight, "Nothing, it's just a place from my childhood." He whispered, careful to make as little noise as possible.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I questioned, growing increasingly concerned about the way Takanobu was acting.

"Yeah." He hesitated for a beat, "Could we please go to the train station now?" His eyes shining with an immense tone of pleading.

"Oh... Of course." I said, leading Takanobu away from the house that seemed to be haunting him.

It took significantly less time than usual to arrive at the station, as Takanobu was walking at a much speedier than what he normally did. Which, ending up being quite a fortunate thing, as we only got onto the train with as much time as a blink of an eye able to pass, before it would have set off without us. 

However, nearly straight after we sat down, Takanobu's head began to loll downwards - snapping it back up if it ever drooped too low. Eventually, he leant against the window beside him, his eyes fluttering open and closed - his entire face relaxing as he began to fight a losing battle between him and the valiant forces of slumber.

While he drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but admire the view in front of me. The way the Sun hit his face in the most perfect manner, the way his chest slowly rose and fell with each inhale and exhale. Something about it was just so ethereal, and even though my conscience told me to look away, I couldn't divert my line of sight. Once again, my eyes were frozen in place.

Just before the train arrived at my stop, I gingerly took Takanobu's shoulder in my hand, rousing him softly, waking him from his slumber - and as he rose from the depths of his dreams, his eyelashes fluttered delicately across his face, fanning perfectly over his cheeks. But, as I got up to leave the train, so did he - not realising that he wasn’t yet at his destination. He must have have been confused, nothing more. 

As soon as we departed from the carriage, Takanobu immediately began conversing with me, "(Y/N), would you mind if you came to see Shiro with me?" He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in some sort of trepidation. "I don't think I could do it alone."

I wasted no time with replying to him, "I wouldn't mind that at all, not one bit." I said, looking into his eyes, noticing something, some kind of aura shrouding him - one that I had never seen before - and much to my chagrin, I couldn't determine exactly what it was. Was it fear? Anxiety? Or perhaps something completely different?

Looking down at the pavement as I walked back to Takanobu's house, I could not hinder a peculiar feeling in the pit of my stomach, making it churn and flip around inside of me. And once again, I was questioning all that I knew. Putting all those queries to one side, I tried to coerce myself into believing that it was only a worrisome feeling for the sake of Shiro's health. But, deep down - I somehow knew that that wasn't true at all, I was only masking what thing was truly there - as a voice inside me, told me I wouldn't be able to handle the magnitude of the way I really felt.

Even by the time we had arrived at his house, I hadn't once let my vision deter from the path I was walking, it was almost as if I couldn't bare to look Takanobu straight in his eyes while he would look back into mine, in fear of something unknown.

While Takanobu opened the door to his house, the unease exuding from him was truly insurmountable, so much so, that anyone in the prefecture could feel it.

And that was completely understandable.

He didn't come running, nor did he walk over.

It was almost as if he didn't exist anymore.

Instead, he laid on the sofa, a morsel of what he was before - bones protruding under his skin, his fur thinned and brittle, his eyes no longer holding the spark of life that had been there before.

Shiro was merely a husk now.

Beside me, Takanobu's legs wobbled at the sight set before him - almost dropping to his knees in disbelief. 

Immediately, he ran to Shiro's side, seemingly forgetting his exhausted state - stroking the dog's back feebly, his hands quivering as he did so - careful not to disturb his friend before him. 

Ejiri must have noticed the sound of the door unlocking, quickly bounding down the stairs to greet us - wearing an expression showing both happiness and sorrow. Without wasting a second, she hurried towards the cowering form of her nephew, wrapping her arms around him with much vigour - truly ecstatic to see him again. Takanobu sunk into her arms, even though, he stood a whole head higher than her - resting his head upon her shoulder, beginning to silently sob into her, his breath hitching and releasing at an unkempt rhythm.

"Don't cry, honey... He's here now and that's all that matters in this moment." Ejiri spoke, patting her nephew's back in an effort to calm him down, "I'm here for you, darling... I always will be." She smiled serenely, "I travelled halfway across the world for you, I dropped everything I had for you - but, I'd do it again infinitely. I will never let you feel isolated again. So, know that I will always be there - no matter the time, no matter the place, no matter what." She reached up and ruffled Takanobu's hair, guiding him towards the sofa where Shiro laid. Then, she turned to me - her arms outstretched, carrying a grateful grin on her face, "And you, my dear - I can't express my gratitude for you enough. You have helped my boy greatly, especially in these not so nice times." After briskly patting my arm, she popped up from the sofa, heading towards the kitchen.

Looking over to the sofa, I saw a sight so beautiful, yet heart breaking - seeing the dreary eyes of Shiro droop in a daze, seeing the immense hurt burning behind Takanobu's eyes. I made way over to them, kneeling on the sofa next to the sick animal, stroking his back, careful not to cause him any pain.

As Ejiri came back into the room, a steaming mug in hand - Takanobu lifted his gaze away from Shiro, "How long?" He uttered, his eyes beginning to prick with a single tear.

She sighed, preparing herself for the news she was about to deliver, "Three days at best." She whispered, furrowing her brows, "I'm sorry."

Takanobu's arms dropped suddenly, in shock - bringing one of them up to cover his mouth, he whimpered, squinting his tears away. His body began trembling, shaking along with his lamentation, his breaths becoming laboured. In that moment, there was something in his eyes, a heart wrenching realisation that what was to come was absolutely inevitable. His face froze in place as tears continued to cascade down his cheeks.

Feeling his sorrow alongside him, I rushed over to his side by pure instinct - comfortingly caressing his back, while leaning my head on his shoulder. The sheer amount of pain he was feeling genuinely hurt me, too.

Takanobu took in an unsteady breath, "(Y/N), will you be there... When it happens?" He spluttered.

I twisted my head upon his shoulder, now facing his tortured expression, "Of course I will."

He smiled slightly, trying to hide the pain - wrapping one of his arms around my shoulder, rubbing into it gently with the pad of his thumb. We stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's company while we could - Takanobu never letting Shiro leave his sight for a single second, as if he thought if he looked away - he'd disappear.

Eventually, enough time had passed, so that Takanobu's exhaustion had caught up with him. So, I shimmied from underneath his arm, slowly manoeuvring him so he leant upon the sofa, his head resting next to Shiro.

Not wanting to impose upon their household any longer, I grabbed my belongings, heading towards the door. But before I did, Ejiri came shuffling towards me, signalling for me not to depart just yet. "One minute, (Y/N)! I wanted to give you Takanobu and I's phone numbers before you go." She paused, handing me a slip of paper with two numbers on it, "For when the time comes." 

I took the note, thanking her for her hospitality - leaving the house in quite the sullen mood.

Upon arriving home, I was greeted by an overly enthusiastic embrace from my father and a lack of her presence from my mother. The usual.

My dad requested that I told him all about the trip to Tokyo - but of course, I left out some of the details - for the sake of my dignity. And in return, he began drabbling about his recent experiences at work, leaving me truly enthralled by his anecdotes. After a long while, he ended his side of the conversation - finally letting me head upstairs into my room. 

While I unpacked my bags, I took the hydrangea out from between the pages of my book, admiring it for a minute or two, before putting it back in the book - letting it rest there as a memory from the trip. I smiled at the thought of it, and how little of a thing that flower was - yet the amount of significance truly resonated with me.

For the rest of the week, everything flowed by rather smoothly, lessons being as average as they could be, Futakuchi being his usual self. Except for Takanobu, who seemed to become more and more solemn as each hour passed by. I didn't think that any person could ever appear that doleful. That was, until late Friday night, as I laid on my bed, trying desperately to fall asleep - my phone began to ring. On the other end was Takanobu's voice, tremulous from the fact he was crying. He didn't need to say much, I knew what was happening. His voice rang out...

"It's time..."


End file.
